


Playing (Hard to Get)

by starrymeis (meiqis)



Category: CLC (Band), NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Emotional Constipation, Getting Together, High School Musical - Freeform, M/M, Multi, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-30
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2021-01-13 07:15:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 46,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21240260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meiqis/pseuds/starrymeis
Summary: Was what he thought until he was asked, “Are you thinking about joining the drama club? You have a really great voice so it would fit you well.”“So do you and I’m not asking about intentions,” he retorted back immediately, frowning at the guy whose name he really should remember because at the moment only dumb nicknames came up. Like, stupid sunshine. Dumb bubblegum smile. Brainless flirt. Admittedly, he had never really been on the kind side with the way he was used to giving nicknames to others but in the end it wasn’t his problem to deal with. Usually.“You want to audition?” A new voice interrupted and Renjun’s eyes skipped over, not sure who had been addressed but when he saw the proximity between the unknown stranger and the already familiar idiot he had been talking to the past minute or so. “I always thought people like you only were into the lower kind of activities. Basketball at least does suit you.”“I think anything would suit me,” the brunet shot back and it sounded incredibly obnoxious and unreasonably gullible at once.





	Playing (Hard to Get)

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and I'm back again with another (Mark voice) _longass ride_ (*˘︶˘*).｡.:*♡  
I've actually been working on this particular story since the beginning of July, marking this not only my longest work to date (I can't believe I broke my previous record ╥﹏╥ ) but also the one I spent the longest time on - really, my admiration goes out to all of you who manage chaptered fics because I already struggle with a one shot for so long... y'all impressive!
> 
> This whole story was actually inspired by [18th June The Show styling](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/30/15/dc/3015dc3f265c00d864e5995c002b3134.jpg) and a tweet (that was deleted by now, and I went through scrolling of months worth of chat messages for that, lol) that called out Jeno and Yeeun looking like Ryan and Sharpay so... I took off? ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
At this point, I **really** have to thank [Gems](https://archiveofourown.org/users/starrywons/profile) for a) watching hsm with me to get the plot down and b) suffer through my endless complaining about this because I really am not used to writing on one project for so long (っ˘̩╭╮˘̩)っ that said, writing on this for a good four months, I felt a lot of ups and downs with it and I'm still not 100% satisfied with it, yet I don't know what I should still adjust so...
> 
> I'll have a bunch of random anecdotes at the end still so whoever lasts until then: I wish you a good read! (ღ˘⌣˘ღ) 
> 
> PS: this is unbetaed and I do tend to make a lot of haste mistakes so if you find a typo, keep it - they're free of charge ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

There were all kinds of teenagers around the world, the smart ones, the little rebels, those bright and chirpy ones or the well behaved kind who didn’t actually start a revolution against their parents. If it was him, then it’s easiest to sum it up with being the best. At least that’s what he got to hear right that moment again as Johnny slumped down a bit from exhaustion, the taller slapping his shoulder carefully as he assured, “Definitely the best. No way we’ll lose the regionals if you play like this.”

“Cut the kid some slack,” Jaehyun interrupted from the bench pushed against one wall of the gym, smile bright and proud, infamous dimples Jaemin had often heard had aided in snatching the love of his dad’s life, but there was also an all too familiar glint within those warm eyes he didn’t want to further think about. “If you train him like this when it’s actually New Year’s, I don’t even want to know what you’re like during regular times, you beast!” Such words were accentuated by one of the balls out of the basket next to his father’s legs being thrown at the coach, but all Johnny did was skillfully catch it, dribble it around for a bit, and then throw a perfect three pointer.

“Worse than during our high school years,” the latter pointed out but Jaemin had already tuned out, catching another ball thrown by his father to bounce against the floor or roll along his arms, taking heed only of the compliments he received, the last coming from the one interrupting them. His name was easily called by Taeyong, a bottle of some sports drink in one hand and a towel in the other, and it was all that was needed for him to ditch the two tall men, ball carelessly thrown over his shoulder but apparently still with enough aim if his coach’s grunt was anything to go by, and then he was already standing in front of his second dad.

They were actually the same, both mindful and very caring, but Jaehyun was undoubtedly the stereotypical image of a father, ruffling hair and rough shoulder slaps, the teenager wouldn’t even be surprised if his first date was greeted by a loaded gun if they dared take him home. On the other hand, Taeyong was delicate, always tending to special needs and using tender gestures, like right now as the towel was gently pressed against his forehead, temples and neck while he gulped down the blue liquid to refresh his exhausted body.

“Tell me if I ever need to call back these sadists, yeah?” The smaller offered with a smile, brushing back some of those bleached white strands and once again a pang hit Jaemin’s chest because it was one of those times their hair color didn’t actually match. The first time he had dyed them, it had been in pink after seeing his older dad in the same color, and for the whole of a summer they had sported a partnered look, causing confusion among a lot of people who didn’t know better. “And now go! There’s a party upstairs for the kids and you really shouldn’t spend the time with old guys like us.”

“Hyung, who are you calling old?!” Jaehyun protested at the same time as Jaemin opened his mouth, but standing closer to the offender, it was the youngest who was shushed by a finger against his lips and a front view of Taeyong’s gentle expression.

“Just go already. You’re always surrounded by us, you should have some fun on your own too.” He was shushed on with a gentle slap of the towel against his back before the same piece of cloth was thrown at Johnny, poor guy who’s getting bullied this night and already complained about this out loud. Once more, Jaemin wanted to object because he loved spending time with his patchwork kind of family but only by turning his head, he already spotted his dad, shaking his head in denial and sending him off with a slight wave before the view was blocked by the platinum blond husband leaning in for a kiss.  
Which was pretty much the whole of the story of why he was freshly showered, his hair still damp, and standing in a room filled with a bunch of unknown kids who obviously also were attendant for the skiing trip over the winter holidays and either had distanced themselves from their parents on their own or had been sent off. Would he not know better, even he would suspect his parents just wanted to have a night to themselves. But that was usually when Johnny took him out for movies and pizza so this one hardly seemed like the night of naughty things. 

Carefully he took in the sight, of beer bottles being replaced by lemonade and soda, most of them already having grouped up into small handfuls to eagerly chat around so there were few like him, only standing around with nothing to do. There were some fun activities, too, like the table tennis or football, the main attraction most definitely had been intended to be karaoke, although the animator who must also be some sort of babysitter to this event still struggled a bit to find the right amount of people to support his project. 

Personally, he had never exactly found the appeal, most likely faulted to his dad being within the music industry and once you know the real deal, and heaven, if Taeyong wasn’t the real deal, this would seem… lacking. So why exactly was it he was currently standing on the stage, having been dragged up and upon somewhere in between still checking everything out and waiting at the bar for some virgin cherry bomb, was a mystery to him, one he didn’t exactly care about any more when looking to his side and seeing his partner for the song.

The boy was small, smaller than him and of a lighter build albeit it was covered by an oversized hoodie, sweater paws wrapped around the microphone and it was quite easy to compare this stranger with a fairy, exuding such radiant beauty and looking so utter soft with his honey hair.

“Whipped,” is what Mark was whispering within his brain, because, yeah, Mark was kind of his voice of reason but he’d never admit that to his best friend when said one was also traitorously bonding with Johnny over whatever American thing. And whipped is what he was, so much he couldn’t help stare at the boy who only seemed to shrink with his intense gaze and it was that one second he saw the honey haired tense up that prompted him to look at the karaoke screen instead. Music helped people relax is what his father always said and, way unlike his standing neighbor, he lived for the attention, lived for the cheers, the eyes on him, the girls and sometimes also boys swooning, and so maybe singing was nothing more than a shower hobby for him but at least if Taeyong already called him good, he couldn’t be all too bad, right?

So he felt hesitant inside, singing in front of people for the first time, but on the other hand, none of them knew him, neither would he see them again, and since his father didn’t usually lie to about anyone, he was at least reassured his voice wouldn’t embarrass him, although his tongue felt stiff and his throat tight. Singing, clearly, wasn’t his forte, catching balls and playing with them was, shooting hoops and jumping around, and it was even more intimidating when the boy next to him hadn’t yet opened his lips when he was already close to finishing his first line. Nearly having given up, it posed as the biggest surprise of the night when a faint sound rang out next to him, silent and timid but gradually growing in strength that had him looking over with startled eyes and all the admiration he could put into his gaze.

Not only was pretty fairy boy next to him utterly gorgeous, those were sounds that were befit of the gracile image, smooth and silky, it was the kind of voice that would easily fit into a ballad on a cold winter day or a soft-spoken confession for flourishing spring days, mellow but sweet, if only it was water, he would willingly drown in it. It was a kind of voice he could listen to eternally, and he had grown up with his parents singing cheesy duets while cooking so he could proudly say he knew what was good and what he liked and if only a singing talent alone would be enough of a reason to propose, he would already be down on his knees.

Call him smitten or, actually, dumb, but right this moment and during this duet he could easily imagine so much more with a boy whose name he didn’t even know but who made singing so easy, to just follow the melody, transcend notes into his tone, find the right emotion - and that definitely was easy to find when, for the first time, he caught the other’s eyes. They were adorable, with their slight downwards curve, a bit red at the corners as if overstrained, a brown so dark it looked black and yet it was the kind of pool he’d all too readily jump into. Orbs that were filled with determination and a hint of shyness alike, jumping around as if not exactly knowing where to focus but it didn’t go past Jaemin how that very gaze passed his lips, halting there for a moment, and then focused on the point between his own eyes, as if that would possibly aid in focusing.

Their voices mingled readily, harmonizing was easy and suddenly he couldn’t understand why his father was so often bitching about stupid singers who couldn’t find one damn pitch to match their partner while tugging at his dyed hair and storming through the house until his dad would catch him in his arms and calm him down. For a moment, he dared imagine enclosing the smaller boy in his arms, quite like Jaehyun always did, and nearly missed his line for a fantasy that was very much worth it, excuse you.

With all his attention put into the song and onto the beauty in front of him, he had lost track of the room around them, so the moment the music halted and they were suddenly surrounded by claps and hollers, his eyes widened slightly. Mere seconds were all it took for him to get used to it, shoulders getting broader as he soaked in the attention, gaze roaming around for a moment, finding a girl smiling at him and another shyly waving but when it returned to right in front of him, he found the stage empty and the second microphone back in place. Nothing but a shade of red flaring in the corner of his eyes hinting at where the mysterious fairy had faded to.

With hurried movements and bright smiles he left the stage, thanking those who complimented their singing until he, too, was out on the generous terrace that must have some sort of floor heating, because it wasn’t too cold but still freezing when the breeze hit him. Them. Because the boy with the burgundy sweater stood next to him, arms crossed above his frail chest and sweater paws stuck beneath to keep them warm while those dark eyes found solace in the stars visible above them.

“You were really good,” Jaemin pointed out, hating the silence but even more that no attention was paid to him by the pretty stranger who, in reaction to his words, flinched and turned around in surprise. Slight agitation was written within those charming eyes as his mouth parted but all too quickly the taller interrupted, “And you’re really pretty too.”

A natural flirt, how Lucas liked to say while slapping his back with too much force, and once again that tall mess of a goofball was written right when the words died on the secretful singer’s tongue and instead red rose to his cheeks. It was such a charming side, the brown haired couldn’t help releasing a little cooing sound before holding his hand out, “Jaemin. But you could also call me the boy of your dreams.”

He nearly retreated his digits when they were only stared at in disdain, but just as it itched him too, suddenly a warm set of was wrapped around his palm, staying for only a split second but leaving the skin tingling for minutes to come. “Renjun. And you wish I would. I don’t dream of narcissists.”

“Feisty,” the sporty one muttered under his breath, appreciation in his voice as he looked at the smaller with the slightest bit of surprise before he morphed his facial expression into the brightest kind of he could muster. “I like that. But I would like even more if you liked me, Jun-ah!”

Renjun sputtered at the immediate call of a nickname, lips parting the slightest bit, then closing, then forming into a thin line before pointing out, “I don’t think we’ll get another chance to find out whether I’d like you or you’d like that. I-”

“Renjun!” Someone called from a higher floor, another terrace, and both of them raised their heads to look at the figure brightly waving their arms, drawing the attention of the younger who so briskly waved whoever it had been off. For one second, the red clothed gave him a look, before turning on his heels to head to the outside staircase but before he could leave, Jaemin had already reached out to wrap his fingers around the bit of fabric he was able to catch, eyes big and hopeful.

“At least give me your phone number. I would like to get to know you better,” he pleaded, free hand already fumbling for his phone to pull out of his pocket, handing it to the now named boy who gave a look first to the device and then him.

“It’s written in the stars,” is all he said before pulling free and running upstairs, the next noises to be heard being some coddling from the other terrace of two people out of sight and then fireworks. Fireworks and all the teenagers from inside streaming out to scream a countdown he had forgotten about and celebrate a new year starting but all he could think about was the warmth of burgundy cloth and the sweetest voice he had ever heard.

  


･*:.｡. .｡.:*･

  
He hated it, he undoubtedly hated it, but not so much for the reasons Sicheng was feeling bad for, evident by the gentle hand still laying soothingly on top of his shoulder. Both his brother and he were not so fond of skinship they hadn’t approved of, so even those touches between them seemed to be timid at times, but the mere thought behind was calming his nerves as he tried his best to focus on the headmaster’s words. Said man was stopping in front of his office and just handing the papers over Renjun was still missing before saying goodbye to his brother with a firm handshake, and that was when the latter’s focus was solely back onto him. “Hey, Renjun, are you sure you are okay with this?”

It was this certain tone of voice, filled with worry about his well-being, he actually hated. Not because he did mind the attention but rather because Sicheng had been trying his hardest for years now, it made him feel queasy to be aware of how even he seemed to be another bullet point on that list of problems to be concerned with. Pointing out how he just didn’t want to be the freak again, that it was unsettling to be seen as some sort of mathematics genius or just some crazyhead, not only reduced to his abilities, exactly those words were lying on the tip of his tongue but when he saw the heavy expression on the older’s face, he couldn’t help forcing a small smile out. “It’s okay. I’m just a bit nervous.”

His brother let out a heavy sigh then, as if some weight had been taken off his shoulders and it probably had, seconds before slender but strong arms pulled the teenager into a tight hug and gently cradling his neck. “I promise, this will be the last time we move before your graduation. And then you can just choose some college and get rid of me and stay there for good.” Which was probably meant to be some sort of motivational speech but it only made him feel unsettled all the more. Their parents were already a set of workaholics, working together in the same department in the same company and that usually meant if one of them was relocated, the other would be too. Statistically, they probably had done so more often than should be considered normal and constantly moving, between countries no less, had meant the only constants for each other had been the brothers. At least until Sicheng had left for college, being steady in place on his own.

Their parents either hadn’t deemed the older brother able to take care of the younger, or they hadn’t wanted to interfere with college and school tasks. Because, evidently, moving places every other year or some was a way better method of raising a kid. It had only been recently they had handed over custody, with the financing graduate having received his degree and found a workplace for a steady enough income. It was his first chance throughout maybe the whole of his life to have something somewhat constant within his life that wasn’t just the same blood running through their all veins.

Just another thought he kept to himself with a tight lipped smile he faulted on the unwanted physical proximity as he gently pushed the taller off, squeezing one of the arms still lingering in the air around him reassuringly. “You’ll be late to your appointment if you don’t go now, Sicheng-ge,” he pointed out, the native honorific slipping out by reflex as he shoved the dance enthusiast into the direction of the entrance and exit carefully.

For another moment the called remained lingering, but then he shook his head and gave a small wave, disappearing down the hallways and leaving Renjun to fend for his own. From his brother’s expression alone he was able to tell his favorite dishes would be standing on their table to welcome him home after school, the question was yet whether it was with or without his brother to accompany it.

Going to a new school by now should be somewhat familiar to him, at least that was how he wanted to reason after having had to move several times by now, but it wasn’t quite, every time was still fraught and nerve wracking, and ever since his first high school had found out he had lead his middle school science club to some international competition to win, he had tried his best to keep it low. It sounded like something to be proud of, such a huge achievement, but in reality it was apparently a great reason to get secluded for. Or bullied. Or both. People didn’t really like nerds and that was a thing. Not unless they could copy homeworks, at least. 

If this was really the last high school for him to attend, with only one year and some months left to graduate, he wanted to make the best of his time and not experience some hell trip again. So he took one deep breath, calmed his nerves, and then headed for the classroom the headmaster had pointed at earlier to pay attendance to his first class of the day, literature or something, which he could easily check if only he looked at his papers but that would kind of take the fun out of it.

The first thing he noticed when he entered was the rather small man sitting in the teacher’s chair - and that meant something when coming from Renjun. Clearly, if going by age, that man was the teacher, but he had as much of a teacher’s appearance as their dogs at home, with such tender build and… were those piercings in his ears? Definitely not a teacher’s appearance but who was he to question that when he still had to hand over some paper slips to his first educator of the day, making his way over while rolling his eyes as he held out the sheets without no word.

“Don’t roll your eyes, that’s my job,” the supposed teacher greeted him and it was really, outstandingly so, odd that such nasal voice could draw so much authority. “Also, manners demand you introduce yourself to someone older but who even has hopes with this generation…” Messily a name was scribbled where it was supposed to before those papers disappeared into a stack on the side of a table and then he was already shushed away, neither asked to introduce himself nor told what chair would be free. He kind of could see that dude getting along with his brother, for some even odder reason.  
Merely some steps into the room and past the first row of seats, a softly called “Hey!” demanded his attention, and his eyes widened the moment he saw who was to his right. Much to his dismay - or maybe luck, he wasn’t sure - the stars had apparently already written out their story because there he was again, that boy way out of his league from his skiing trip with his cousins Kun and Chenle but with the most beautiful voice he had ever heard. Maybe also the one he had been thinking about for days now but never anticipated to meet in his new school, of all places. 

Already could he feel his ears heat up as he merely looked at those bright eyes and even brighter teeth revealed by some happy gummy smile, any sort of answer cut off before leaving his lips, though, because their teacher was slamming some folded magazine down onto the table and calling for attention. “As you all can see, you have a new classmate. Yada yada. Jeno, put your phone away and Lucas, be quiet,” the frail educator demanded without even looking at them but even then, he clearly stiffened when there was one more dingy sound coming from one of the phones around, turning around to immediately find the culprit. “Yeeun, I’d tell you to stay behind after class but you’ll be with me anyways.”

With curious eyes, Renjun looked at the girl with short but perfectly platinum blonde hair, with a sheepish smile pocketing her phone again while a boy with quite similar hair behind her was quick to do the same. Albeit, now that he thought about it, he wasn’t even sure his own phone had been put on silent mode, with how busy they had been to make their new house more homey, they had constantly needed to call each other and also actually be aware of that, so unlike what he had been used to, he hadn’t had turned off the sound for a good two weeks now. 

Sneakily he tried to reach for his phone in his pocket, just pull it out, turn it off and put it back. Sounded easier than it was because seemingly each of those piercings meant a new pair of eyes and within a second the folded magazine was slammed down on the table plate attached to his seat. “Newbie, detention. Five minutes here and already breaking the rules… This is exactly why I have no faith in any of you!”

As if nothing else had happened, their teacher walked to the front again, starting some dramatic talk about Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, and how they all shouldn’t take it serious because those two had been fricking teenagers and were overdramatic bitches - his teacher’s words, he might add - and in between and within the first fifteen minutes still, even that hot guy from the ski resort and another received detention as well.

Renjun has just made it out of class, when the same voice that had greeted him first amidst all people in class addressed him again, a bright and chirpy “Hi! Renjun, right?” along with the brightest smile he had ever seen, the kind that might as well be on a huge billboard to advertise some brightening toothpaste. He hated it. Mostly because it made his heart flutter though, and because he still couldn’t believe someone on that level of looks was actually trying to talk to him, mostly because he had been stamped the nerdy freak or freaky nerd or any combination of in his schools before. 

“Yeah…” He answered warily, eyes darting down the hallways to figure whether his next class would be a presentable option of an excuse to leave this more than awkward situation but before he could, he was already presented with the question of his next class, and then the immediate offer to walk together. 

“I didn’t expect to meet you again like this. Maybe you’ve lead us to become a love destined by the stars,” the taller so shamelessly said but if Renjun had taken a sip of whatever drink a second before, he was sure it would’ve sprayed out all over the flirt’s face, along with his saliva mixed into it. Who even said stuff like that? Was that guy crazy? Maybe too much dental bleach had affected his- “You’ve become even prettier than when we met first, too.”

This time around he choked on his spit, looking at the strange boy with wide eyes but then again, looking at that delighted expression was like looking directly into the sun so he averted his gaze to somewhere else, roaming around the hallways only to get stuck on a bulletin board that advertised for all kinds of clubs created by students or led by teachers. Definitely and totally fascinating. At least it was better than looking at that stupidly pretty face. 

Was what he thought until he was asked, “Are you thinking about joining the drama club?” Immediately his gaze skipped back to the taller next to him, and with them somehow having halted in front of the corkboard and the sheet of paper inviting students to take part in the auditions for some piece he had never even heard of. Aside from his brother’s interest in dance and his own, albeit short and imitation influenced, history in that aspect, there wasn’t really much musical interest in his family. “You have a really great voice so it would fit you well.”

“So do you and I’m not asking about intentions,” he retorted back immediately, frowning at the guy whose name he really should remember because at the moment only dumb nicknames came up. Like, stupid sunshine. Dumb bubblegum smile. Brainless flirt. Admittedly, he had never really been on the kind side with the way he was used to giving nicknames to others but in the end it wasn’t his problem to deal with. Usually.

“You want to audition?” A new voice interrupted and Renjun’s eyes skipped over, not sure who had been addressed but when he saw the proximity between the unknown stranger and the already familiar idiot he had been talking to the past minute or so. As if standing so close hadn’t been enough, though, he couldn’t help notice how that new guy’s hand brushed against flirty guy’s for a moment too long than be innocent. “I always thought people like you only were into the lower kind of activities. Basketball at least does suit you.”

Personally, Renjun wasn’t certain whether this was supposed to be a compliment or not, most definitely it seemed to be a bit hypocritical regardless, considering blondie looked better built than the ski resort kid at first glance. Even if the mention of basketball hinted at the complete opposite. 

“I think anything would suit me,” the brunet shot back and it sounded incredibly obnoxious and unreasonably gullible at once. The new student only rolled his eyes, though, letting his eyes travel over the board of advertisements again while slowly zoning out of the conversation going on next to him. A hand he had only watched some seconds before but that already seemed familiar enough interrupted his thought relaxing task when it moved into his frame of sight to write his name in prominent letters onto the audition list. Jeno. At least that was one classmate’s name he finally knew, even though it was someone he didn’t really talk to so far.

Jeno, or the honey haired hoped that was actually the right name, could apparently look quite menacing, as victim of such expression Renjun found himself, blinking slowly at the boy who hadn’t even yet exchanged a word with him but already looked so cold. Scratch that, apparently now they were talking, because the platinum blond held out his hand and said, “Lee Jeno. Don’t try to forget, everyone talks about me anyways.” There was no time for the obviously smallest of them all to reply because already the snappy boy turned back to The Flirt and added, “He doesn’t suit you. You should look for someone in your league.”

For a moment, that scene stealing hand of the last minutes reached forth to softly tug at the lapel of narcissistic idiot’s jacket, showing a smile that seemed awfully contrasting to such offensive words before he turned on his heel, heading towards the blonde girl who had earlier in class been reminded of the forbidden cellphone use but greeted him happily.

“If only he would be easier to handle… I’d already date him,” the brunet said, tone stuck somewhere between being mourning and joking and it highly confused Renjun because - what? Clearly those words hadn’t been meant for him but at least now he could be certain that pretty boy at least was no het. He wasn’t yet sure that made it better or worse.

Something else was horrible, and just came back to his mind as he looked at the clock on one wall, telling them of the approaching beginning of the next class which he was quick to notify the taller of. What he didn’t expect was to feel fingers enclosing his wrist to hurriedly tug him along to math and another hour of supposed hell but, in Renjun’s case, actual fun.

  


･*:.｡. .｡.:*･

  
“Who,” and Jeno made sure to put as much annoyance into this single word as possible, “is this guy?” The tapping against his phone became more aggressive as he pushed his feet against the seat in front, luckily more sturdy than maybe in class for the ones in the auditorium were fixed, not budging like the great rest he wanted them to be. If Yeeun sitting next to him actually wanted to ask who he’d be referring to, it was answered the moment he looked up from the colorful screen of some dash and jump agility game. The kind that would drive his own sister mad if she spent more than one round on it. But currently his gaze wasn’t on his twin, eyes trained on the new boy’s frame instead, painting the cardboard of a tree without any worry in the world. 

So maybe that guy was cute, in the way of a cold beauty, aloof eyes and the kind of nose that had him eager to boop it like his cats’ and the kind of rosy lips everyone would be glad to own and who even cared about that. And especially why did Jaemin care about that? Jaemin had never before attempted getting closer to a new kid, and now it meant that the detention time that could be spent between the two of them was passed with the new kid?

“Feet down,” someone commanded, someone who definitely wasn’t female and therefore not his sister which was enough of a prompt for him to look up only to be faced with their teacher. Which didn’t make putting his shoes back into contact with the floor any more enjoyable but at least it seemed more reasonable. As much as Ten was entertaining and easy-going, as seen by even allowing them to call them by his nickname (although that might have to do with the ineffability of his native name), the educator definitely knew no tolerance whenever the drama club was concerned. Or the theatre. Or phones. Jeno still thought the last had to do with not receiving any messages himself.

With a soft thud the small man fell into the chair next to them and pulled a sheet of paper out of seemingly nowhere, the short list of who had been ordered into detention now one by one checked and names ticked off. It was easy to still a glimpse and even easier to find the unknown name among those he was already used to. In theory, because all Ten had written down was “newbie” and had definitely wasn’t helpful but Mister Sass Compressed had never really bothered to learn names. The blond wasn’t even sure half the names in class would be remembered were it not for the usual detention, hating on sports kids, and the pair of twins known for their theatre activities.

The adult next to him said something but all Jeno heard was but a buzzing in the background, eyes trained on his long-time crush and that beautiful new shade of hair and that little sprinkle of paint that had splattered onto his cheek. Mark said something to his best friend and, guessing by Jaemin’s reaction, it had been about the paint because next thing he knew, there was a colorful streak across even skin and the back of a nimble hand. They seemed about to jump into a paint war and risk more detention and that wasn’t at all something Jeno would mind because then at least that would mean getting to spend more time with the boy of his dreams because Ten might be a teacher but he was also a spawn of hell and maybe influenced by capitalism and abuse of work time because detention by the One and Only always meant construction for their plays.

All that was interrupted by whatever noise the new kid made, drawing their sports ace’s attention and Jeno’s stomach churned when observing how immediately the slightly younger seemed to zero all his attention onto New Kid, eyes sparkling in the way he wished they would for him and smile so bright and gullible it caused a nearly painful squeeze to his chest. It was a decision of seconds but yes, most definitely he hated the new kid. For no other reason than being the so obvious person of interest of his very crush. To the point even Mark seemed surprised by their interruption of banter but not too pleased and Jeno could surely relate to-

A hand moved into his direct vision and the next second a sharp snap of well manicured fingers tore him out of his thoughts with a start, eyes widened comically as he looked at his sister. Not that Yeeun looked sorry in the least but rather mischievous about the obvious shock caused to him. Maybe that was the only time she looked like this, given how usually she seemed to be rather on the softer side, not unlike him. It just wasn’t their fault they had too much of a pokerface. “Ten asked about our audition, Jen.”

Without changing his expression yet, he turned his head towards their teacher who only let out a distorted snort at the grimace he had made. “Better get your face under control before you eventually end up single. Wait, sorry, you already are,” the supposed adult, and sometimes Jeno quite wondered whether a teacher like this qualified to be called either teacher or adult, pointed out. Some of those tendencies he wanted to blame on Doyoung but then again, those two knew each other, bad influence and all. “Audition is in two weeks and unless anything comes in between, the line up should be fixed by next month. Including rehearsal times. But you already know that, right?” 

Jeno only gave the older one of his usual smiles, this kind of routine all too known to the twins so the update was hardly needed but welcome regardless. “As long as I don’t have to ki-” He never got to finish his sentence, his smiling face halfway hidden by his sister’s hands clasped over his mouth.

“We never wanted to speak about this again,” Yeeun hissed into his ear, and as much as it was supposed to be daring, it was primarily adorable when she sounded whiny more than threatening. It was a story embarrassing to the two of them, for while they had acted as love interests at times, they were quite great at faking the really romantic moments, including the kisses they were supposed to stage. Usually that went great, hiding their disgust when they had to lean in too far, knowing just the right angles for cheek kisses to look like more, except that one time. That one time. When they had been on stage but a phone had gone off among the audience, startling them enough to be slightly off target and… Well, no matter that they had shared the bathtub as babies, they definitely had yearned for some wipes after this. And then they had indeed promised such thing. 

“Don’t remind me.” Even Ten grimaced at the memory of that. “Doyoung is still showing me a picture of that whenever he is drunk… Disgusting.” Whether that was about the photo of that incident or the behavior of their uncle being drunk was another question entirely. “Just get everything ready for your audition before I- Mark Lee! What are you doing?”

The sudden scream was enough to startle both the twins into looking at the stage where a certain Mark Lee had indeed been yelled at for reason, however magically having managed to break an entire imitation of a tree apart, and still daring to show a sheepish expression. “Sir, it wasn’t-”

“Lee!” Their teacher yelled again, even more exasperated now when paint dripped from the brush still within the student’s hand and slowly tainted the hardwood floor of the stage. Trust one boy to be able to mess it all up and it really had Jeno wondering in that moment how Mark even managed to have become vice captain of their basketball team when that kid couldn’t even attempt defending himself without risking to color their whole boards anew.

“Lee!” Came the echo from behind them one second later, and it took one glance from Ten at the man of mention along with one of Jeno at their teacher to know who it was. Only the basketball team’s coach would ever be able to make the small man tense up quite as much. “Na! Practice! Now!” Those four words had definitely sounded less intimidating than the sentences directed at their club head, “Ten, what are you doing keeping my star player here? We have play offs in a few weeks and you’re keeping my kids from practice?”

“Oh dear,” the Thai grumbled and rolled his eyes, giving the two kids in question a warning glare before they could even consider getting a move on. “You’re talking as if you wouldn’t train that airhead over there all throughout vacation anyways…” Then again, he was nearly one head smaller than the coach so he didn’t really want to risk a heated discussion that would only give him an urge to start brawls. (Jeno suspected it had more to do with unresolved sexual frustration but who was he to judge, right? At least Doyoung had said the same.) “They’ll have to do their thirty minutes left tomorrow, John.”

“Sure, Ten,” the older of the two replied, eyeroll just barely hidden by the shadow of the gallery above but it was enough to prompt both the kids to jump up - Mark with a yell and Jaemin with a lingering bright smile directed at New Kid that had Jeno’s stomach churning - and run after their coach to leave the theatre.

From the time of the doors falling close Jeno could already start a countdown of five, four, three, two - “You two,” Ten huffed at them, raising one arm to point at the stage in a way not unlike a petulant child, “go and take over for those dumbasses. I don’t want to be stressed later on because of that giant dumbass.”

Jeno quickly followed after his sister down the row and then towards the stage, waiting until they were out of ear shot before he hummed to Yeeun, “Unresolved sexual tension.” Apparently, they had still been too audible - damn the echo of the hall - because a bunch of papers suspiciously looking like the play’s script was thrown into his direction. He merely dodged and gave Ten his most charming smile in retaliation, for a moment forgetting that working on the stage also meant working closer to New Kid. Suddenly he disliked spending detention in here.

  


･*:.｡. .｡.:*･

  
Over the years, a certain routine had set into Jaemin’s life - finish classes, go to team practice, go home with Mark unless they caught a drive by Johnny, then he’d finish his assignments and before dinner, he’d meet Johnny in the yard to play some more. “Work the steam off,” as his uncle liked to call it albeit Taeyong would rather put it as “damn athletic kids and their auto-masochism”. 

Currently he was dribbling the ball around between his legs, working on his hand work while eyeing the tall American able to defend the basket thanks to his size alone. There was a certain advantage to it, get past Johnny and he’d be able to get past nearly every other player he was to meet out on the fields. The only one he hadn’t been able to beat was his dad, no matter how long it has been since Jaehyun played, some minutes into their fooling around and he wouldn’t be able to get a single throw past his father.

It took only a few attempts of getting past the older to know his coach was making it harder for him that day intentionally, making it less of a training session and more of a real match. Five failures in and Jaemin was passing the ball over to the American with a pout on his lips. “You’re being hard on me today!”

“You missed half the training,” Johnny simply shot back. Now that it was the older’s turn to dribble the ball around, the student allowed himself to relax a bit, watching the blur of an orange movement attentively but even then, it was hard to miss out on Taeyong stepping onto the porch, steaming mug of tea in his hands and watching them with interest. To his second father, mostly always, it was fascinating to watch them all interact like this, once having described it as it “allowing me to catch a glimpse of the times I did not yet know our Jaehyunnie”. Hearing such words and seeing the affection in his parent’s eyes even after nearly ten years of marriage, it really was no wonder he had grown up to be a hopeless romantic.

“It’s not my fault Ten gave us detention!” The pout on his lips only intensified, with how well it had worked ever since he was a child (that pout had been the reason for his overdose on ice cream and a stomach ache that lasted for two days but he still didn’t regret it). Only now Johnny seemed less adamant about giving in to him, obvious in the way his uncle only pushed past him and landed a perfect shot into the hoop. “And maybe if you had used more of your charme, we wouldn’t have needed to come in again tomorrow!”

He didn’t mention that he didn’t mind that part quite as much, it was a welcome excuse to spend another half an hour just watching Renjun paint, the way those gently slanted eyes took a bit more of a slope, lips curling the slightest bit at the corners, hands moving so gracefully with a brush held and - “Jaemin!” Taeyong screeched from the distance and it was barely enough of a warning for him to dodge the shot aimed at his head.

“Jaemin,” Johnny repeated, one word enough to carry an ominous feeling despite being so utterly different to how his father had called out. “University scouts will be attending your regionals to check out your assets. If you don’t impress them this year, next year it will be even harder for you. So don’t get distracted when you’ve been working on this for years.”

The words stung, even when he knew they reason for his uncle’s stern view on this, he couldn’t help feel a rush of shame overcome him. His coach had been so delighted by his choosing being a professional basketball player as a dream, wanting to overcome the records his dad had set, to bathe in the attention of being not only an athlete but also more handsome than was justified. Not only that, Johnny had always put more effort into his training than anyone else, yet it didn’t mean being so upset for being caught up in detention once was justified.

His protests remained stuck in his throat when Jaehyun leaned out of the door, famous smile and “cheating fucking dimples” on as he called, “Dinner’s ready. I made your favorite, John.” It didn’t spare Jaemin receiving a warning glare from Johnny but he was willing to get over it when his parents greeted him at the door, Taeyong shushing him inside and Jaehyun taking the basketball to throw it into the storage bin on the porch. The movement took little time but enough for his dad to say, “Don’t take it to heart. He was strict even on me when I missed training, and he wasn’t even my coach.”

In fatherly fashion, the taller gently patted his back, just seconds before the music producer pushed them into the dining room with hands against their backs. “You know the rule, no sports during meals. Now, Jaemin, tell us about your school day, will you?”

“Good morning, Injunnie,” were the first words leaving Jaemin’s mouth after having entered the school building, lips so close to the smaller’s ear he could basically see the shiver creeping up the covered spine, or feel the way his breath broke against skin. It wasn’t like he wasn’t usually getting close to others but normally they weren’t quite as cute as Renjun, making this definitely more exciting. Apparently, none of them was quite as feisty either, often enough dodging away from him but it was only thanks to reflexes to defend basketball fouls that had him avoiding the elbow aimed at his guts. “How spirited so early in the day, Junnie! I like that!”

The older seemed to mutter something that sounded suspiciously like “Only spawns of hell can smile at a time like this”, which the basketball player graciously overlooked the moment he caught sight of that pretty face, along with the dull expression shown. Maybe he would look quite the same had he not already downed half of his quadruple shot coffee Taeyong had advised him not to imbibe in consideration of his health, a sentence he heard so often it was about as part of their routine as was eating cereals for breakfast. The bottle carrying the iced drink was still within his hand as he merely smiled at the fairy-like boy. “What is your first class? I’ll take you there.”

“Literature.” A curt reply, and yet it sounded like an angel’s voice to the brunet who turned the brightness of his smile up a notch. Even more of a reason to be so happy was the mere fact that they would be sharing their next class, meaning he’d have more time to look at the older and swoon at that delicate beauty they were blessed with. After all, he had missed days of looking at the smaller and the mere thought of how he might have never met Renjun again if not for fate dealing him a good hand… Truly horrendous!

With a simple tilt of his head he indicated the direction they should take, down the hallway that also lead past the classroom they had met in the day before. Ten’s room, as they had all started to dub it because their teacher had most definitely left his traces there, some of those including glitter decorating their ceiling and up to this day no one knew how exactly it remained stuck there. (Lucas had ominously said it might be an omen of the Thai’s pent up sexual frustration - usually released on his students - and the day it would come down would be the day Ten, too, would come. But not down. Getting any smaller was apparently impossible.)

His eyes were on the slowly filling list for another moment, then redirected at Renjun when he asked, “You really don’t want to audition? With a voice as beautiful as yours, it’d be a crime to keep it to yourself.”

“No, I-”

“Morning, Jaemin.” Jeno’s eyesmile easily occupied his sight when interrupting their conversation, and while to most others it might not have been notable, Jaemin could definitely see how the older avoided looking at their newest addition. Part of that might be because he had spent way too much time looking at that curve of lids to notice the slightest move of the orbs behind, currently transfixed on him. Add to that Jeno not greeting the smaller, he could nearly sense the irritation radiating off the boy next to him. “Are you interested in the play finally? I’m sure I could ask Ten about-”

“We’re just on the way to literature,” Renjun interrupted those softly spoken words, somehow managing to sound even less polite than minutes ago. It meant considerably much and it felt like a brewing storm, the air going colder between the two boys next to him. “C’mon.”

Jaemin would definitely feel better about the way the smaller tugged on his sleeve were it not for the way the singer’s expression froze. It was a rare occurrence for Jeno to get upset, and it was not shown in a very open way, but the platinum blond tended to hold grudges. The memory of how it had taken nearly two weeks to bribe Jeno into not being upset with him anymore after having stolen his dessert was still fresh within Jaemin’s mind, despite it having happened in their first year spent together. Ever since he had been more attuned to subtle changes of mood, not to mention having gotten to know what exactly riled up his longtime classmate up. A skill that had not been fading even when they had grown apart. “Jen-”

“I think he can speak for himself. Can’t you, Jaemin?” Jeno asked, eyesmile carved into his features but now it looked less charming and more like a mask worn. For some reason, it was making Jaemin uncomfortable, all the more when he thought about how it was Renjun and Jeno not getting along. (Albeit that might have more to do with how his heart beat faster when looking at either of those two.)  
Before he could as much as answer, a sudden “Hey, Jae!” startled all of them enough for the tension between them to dissolve, and the blond looked way more like the puppy the athlete was used to from childhood days. The singer had been titled a golden retriever baby within his mind since years, after all, equal parts sweet, smart, and outright dumb. It was an intoxicating mixture that might have lead them down a different path were this another storyline playing out.

Cause of that disruption was Mark, having thrown his arm around the ace player’s shoulder, chirpy despite the time and entirely oblivious to what was going on. “I was lonely during my morning run, your dad didn’t message me about not showing up! Hey, why are we standing in front of Ten’s? I thought singing was only Jeno’s thing. No offense, bro.”

“None taken. Jaemin,” Jeno smiled his farewell, voice back to that soothing soft tone it usually had but the brunet still didn’t miss how it all fell when the similarly tall looked at Renjun in the passing. Seeing the usually so gentle boy acting cold felt off, and it had him yearning for them to have grown apart less than that just so he wouldn’t need to feel bad about inquiring this case further.

“Man, was he always as tense?” Mark asked, sounding more baffled than anything and Jaemin had nearly forgotten about his neighbor being there. Not that he had been too focused on Jeno’s and Renjun’s - who seemed to be upset behind his calm act - reactions or something like that. Not at all. Definitely not.

“Asshole,” the small fairy suddenly muttered, looking after the singer who had already disappeared. It would have been less expected (who was he kidding, he hadn’t expected the older to curse like this) were it not for those nimble fingers still holding onto his shirt having turned into an angry clutching. Only one single word but just that had even Lucas behind them screeching to a hold, albeit not noticed by those at the front. “Let’s go.”

The blond didn’t even dare look around as he left a sputtering Mark and confused and ignored Lucas behind, following the little force of the new student’s dragging him forward was a more favorable task to pursue. The only thing disturbing him was - “Injunnie, you’re heading into the wrong direction.” For the older’s sake, he decided not to mention the light flush coloring those beautifully carved cheekbones as Renjun slowed down his steps and allowed him to take the lead. Really, too cute. 

Nearly cute enough to make him forget about Jeno’s off behavior as well.

  


･*:.｡. .｡.:*･

  
Renjun knew, for a fact, he was short-tempered (it was honestly impossible not to when his brother’s boyfriend, dear gods, loved to read the horoscope in the morning and somehow he still felt Aries-shamed by Yuta up to this day), but he also tried his best to keep his character faults at bay. This mission he marked as impossible when, minutes after having received a Chemistry worksheet for the class, foreign fingers were tapping against the table right above his papers, demanding his attention. He regretted looking up the moment he saw Jeno’s face in front of him, scowl appearing on his own features in reaction. 

Blame it on having rallied too many bad experiences with kids like him before, those snobby and bratty ones who were surely more favored for their looks than their character had been the ones who tended to pick on him the most. Just because he liked science and enjoyed reading about space and aliens in his free time. His sharp words had been the last wall hiding how hurtful being shunned could be, books only offering so much reassurance when he was an outsider again once the pages fell close, but even that came crumbling down with surprise when Jeno asked, “How did you meet Nana? He wouldn’t be nice like that to someone he doesn’t know, not to mention show you around.”

Just what was it with these two that had him feeling like an intruder, somehow caught up in the midst of their act? It was confusing as much as it was intriguing. Jaemin had acted quite deliberate and flirty ever since their first encounter (and those touchy hands were something Renjun had unwillingly gotten used to during the passing of the day), a striking contrast to the tension that seemed to be between the athlete and the singer often times. Not to mention their lingering gazes, touches, and cryptic words. 

To him, who experienced stuff like that mostly second-hand through dramas he had running while doing homework, it was exciting to be able to observe it up close. What was less exhilarating was the mere fact that he felt targeted by some kid he didn’t even know thanks to being pestered by a charming airhead. “I don’t know him,” he answered simply, and he meant it. He knew the boy was named Na Jaemin, played basketball, was best friends with his neighbor Mark who was also caught in some sort of sports limbo of Jaemin’s family. At least if considering his having overheard Johnny was Jaemin’s uncle and Mark’s mention of morning runs had been anything to go by. And that the ace player had disgusting taste if the mere smell of his coffee had been anything to go by. “I think the fact that he keeps whispering about me being cute” - which had urged him to choke the athlete several times within a single day - “says more about his intentions than any history between him and me.”

He tried his best to act nonchalant as he kept transcribing molecular reactions on the paper but the heat creeping up his cheeks was undeniable. His only hope was for Jeno not to see it, so he tried to appear even more focused on the assignment. The questions weren’t even difficult, evident by the speed his pen scratched along the paper in, albeit a welcome enough excuse not to have to look up at the singer. Partly it was also a habit for most bullies lost interest if he just acted nonchalant for long enough about it, with about any insult having grown dull over the passing of time.

“You’d be no better than a pet then,” was nothing he had heard before, though. The short moment of Renjun being able to check out the blond’s expression passed too fast and when he looked up, Jeno had turned to the front again. It left him confused, not sure whether that was meant as an insult or something else. If verbal assaults didn’t exactly include definite offenses or something considered as (nerd, for example, or freak, kissass, weirdo, to name the nicer ones), he wasn’t exactly whether it wasn’t already an upgrade to before. At least pets were adorable so was this to be considered a compliment maybe?

Not wanting to deliberate over it any longer, he looked back down onto his paper to finish up soon enough. Pushing aside conversations he had held was easy, obviously so, when not even half the class time had passed and he had already handed in his papers for Ms Kang to check, while himself making the best of his free time. It was not his fault she had underestimated the drive of her students. Or maybe just his, since seemingly everyone else was still wrecking their brains over the questions handed out.

It took another ten minutes and roughly five pages of his newest book about aliens and all their technology kept hidden from the broader public so the military could use them on their own, when the next student handed his papers in. The very same kid also approached him next and just pushed his uninvited ass onto the table Renjun was leaning against, clothed thighs brushing against his arm having him flinch back a bit.

It must have been just what his classmate had waited for, showing a bright expression and talking chirpily - and loud, despite most of the people in the room trying to concentrate - “Have you thought about joining any clubs now?” From the row before him, Renjun could see how Jeno tensed his broad shoulders, a crack of plastic echoing through the room that was easily drowned out by the intruder’s voice. “Did you maybe consider the science club yet? We’re still lacking members for the decathlon and you’re not only fast but apparently even good at this stuff.”

For a moment the Chinese boy was confused as to how the talkative one was supposed to know this but, looking front and towards their teacher’s table, he realized why. She had already pulled out a red and green pen each and was going through what had been handed in so far, one of the finished ones looking suspiciously like his own. 

“I promise, we don’t bite,” the tan boy continued and now Renjun actually took a better look at the unwanted guest to his table. It was the kind of bronze that was innate, not to be achieved by going out into the sun and frying one’s braincells in the heat. Mischief was written into his eyes in capital letters and it might have been more intimidating if not for the gentle slope of his eyebrows and the remains of baby fat in his cheeks.

All in all, the smaller felt more threatened by the risk of his eardrums bursting or the lack of manners rubbing off and then he would be the one to walk up to others without introduction. Unimaginable. So he made quick work of tucking his bookmark between the pages again before giving the stranger the most void-of-emotion eyes he could muster at the moment. “I’m not interested in joining any clubs at the moment. But I wish you the best of luck if you want to win the decathlon with these kinds of results.” Lightly he jerked his head towards their assignments handed back by a passing students. The difference between his all green sheet and the messy one was grand, enough so to nearly deserve some pity and mercy. It didn’t seem to be worthy the prospect of bullying though. 

“Come on, uhm…”

“Renjun,” the boy advised and then, sensing his chance, raised his eyebrows expectantly.

“Right, Renjun,” the tan boy repeated, quickly adding, “I’m Haechan. Your perfect full sun! And in dire need of support for the decathlon or we’ll lose and then we’ll have to dissolve our club and I might actually have to do something like work for Ten and spend time with this one here.”

“Hey,” Jeno protested from in front of them, just having returned to his table due to having handed in his assignment like most of the class by now. It was followed one second later by the bell ringing, their teacher asking for all sheets to be handed back to her when leaving and Haechan’s words were still ringing clear in Renjun’s mind as he considered it for real now. Not because his love for science was surpassing his desire to keep a certain social standing but much rather for the adorable pout and puppy eyes he suddenly was assaulted with.

Instead of making empty promises or agreeing before he had actually considered it, he only muttered, “I’ll consider it.” He didn’t want to be caught any longer in the hyper boy’s circumference when it meant possibly agreeing on a whim just because there was someone else being as cute as a pet, thus rushing to stuff his notepad into his bag and then hurry out of class.

The audition, of sorts, had been scheduled for two days, surely in case someone might not be available during either of the appointments but with one of his classes having been cancelled, Renjun found himself standing at the far end of the theatre. So far, Ten had only settled at the front, clipboard in his hands and with some students spread over the variety of seats that made up the first few rows.  
Jaemin’s words of his voice being deserving of being showcased didn’t vanish from his mind, all the more so when hardly anyone had shown him the same enthusiasm before. Sure, before a handful people had been impressed with his skill of solving scientific problems but they all had had a bigger goal in mind, had wanted him to lead him to victory. It was not about showing off his talent but showing off them owning his talent. In a twisted way, he had felt like a pet, a mascot, not like a person of his own.

But the flirty boy had planted this idea in his mind, of him actually possessing some talent that might be worthy of praise, not just a niche pride of the respective school. Haechan, when it came down to it, hadn’t he also just asked to make him a mascot? Asking about victory rather than his preferences? It would be easier to bear had he not a soft spot for wide eyes and pouty lips. Just that that was a different matter.

As sneakily as possible he moved to one of the farther behind rows, passing his free time watching. That alone was unusual for him, he would do better catching up on schoolwork he was not familiar with, it would make him feel productive despite the ease he’d most likely be able to do it all with. The thought of what he was supposed to do rather than what he actually did was stuck in his mind as he kept listening through the many versions of the same song, always the same melody and always a different voice. There were deep timbres and formation that reminded him more of an opera singer than a meager high school production. 

With all these performances, unique in their own way each, he still found the highlight to be Jeno’s performance. Merely realizing this was making him grit his teeth, he didn’t want to compliment someone who is so specific in whom to show kindness to, yet there was no denying the smoothness of that soft tone perfectly harmonized with his sister’s lighter color. If it were quite as simple, he would like to blame it on some weird deep shit like twin telepathy and the likes. 

Without intending to, he slipped into the memory of New Year’s eve, of standing on the same tiny stage as had Jaemin and singing together. Back then, matching their pitch and interweaving their tones had been easy, it had felt familiar, not too different to solving equations but rather it came natural to him. At this moment, it had him wondering whether some voices were simply made to sound better together, a musical metaphor of natural selection. Some birds choose their mates based on singing tone so why not humans too?

What he hadn’t realized at first, though, was that apparently the best was kept for last, so by the time Jeno and his yet unknown sister were finished, Ten clapped his hands in appreciation. It was the kind of sudden noise that startled Renjun out of his stupor, too much of a contradiction of the softly sounding piano notes, and instinctively he slipped deeper into his seat when the teacher’s gaze roamed the hall. “If no one else plans to sing, you all can get lost. Dealing with cranky teenagers is bad enough on the daily, spare me my free time.”

“Funny, isn’t he?” An abrupt whisper was directed at his ear, enough to have him shriek and jump up in his chair. Had he not held onto the armrests in advance, he’d likely have fallen over and toppled onto the ground. Regardless of his position, he was still able to glare at Jaemin behind him. Stupid airheads with their even stupider surprise factor. And stupidly bright smiles.

“Jaemin,” Ten shouted from the front, this time startling the both of them and Renjun could barely so suppress another shriek to leave his lips. “Are you trying to beat your uncle’s annoying ass?”

“I think it’s ‘annoyingness’ but that word doesn’t exist, sir!” The basketball player chirped up, smile ever so bright and for a moment the Chinese boy was impressed with that charme. No matter how snarky and feisty he could be with other kids annoying him, he had never before dared to talk back to teachers. “But I’ll gladly tell Johnny what you think of his ass! He has been putting more effort into his squats recently. I think dad is at fault for that but-”

“Jaemin!” Renjun hissed from beneath the taller, tugging at his sleeve to make him stop. Even from meters away he could feel their teacher’s seething about such shameless talking back. Or it was just his own paranoia about being a new student, and wanting to leave a good impression nonetheless.

All it elicited from the brunet was a bright smile and a simple, “Not my fault he keeps checking out Johnny’s ass.” The foreign student didn’t even get a chance to react to it when the athlete went on, “Can we try the song though?”

“You?” The laughter Ten released seemed amused, as if he had been told the best of jokes at that moment. Considering the situation, it actually seemed comical. Right there, the school’s star player wanted to audition for the school’s musical and hadn’t Jaemin mentioned it since the day before, even Renjun might laugh at it. “You don’t even have a partner. Go back to shooting some hoops with your pack or whatever you do in that gym.”

“I have one!” Those words would have been way easier to handle had it not been the smaller’s hand that was suddenly raised, with the Chinese realizing his fingers were still holding on to Jaemin’s shirt. The owner seemed awfully proud of that, whereas Renjun just wanted to choke him to death. Again.

The distaste of the situation couldn’t be any more palpable on Ten’s face but as drama club head, certain responsibilities were put into his hands regardless. “Fine,” the teacher huffed, arms crossed in a near juvenile way. “But if you don’t have me swept off my feet, I’ll be making fun of you for weeks.”

Only because of their close proximity, Renjun had the impression that the other’s smile froze over. Then again, he didn’t know the brunet much so he might as well be wrong. Neither was it a thought he could mull over, not when Jaemin had already changed their manual position, pulling him along by the wrist, away from the seats and down to the stage.

His only relief was that most students had already left. Scratch that, all of them must have rushed off before or after being shushed out by their teacher and not even famous Na Jaemin could halt anyone’s will of freedom, apparently. It didn’t make the prospect of being made fun of by a teacher, of all people available, any easier. He’d much rather get bullied for having a horrible voice by peers than grown-ups.

Hesitation must have been obvious in his slowed down steps, something that couldn’t have passed the taller who now needed to exert more strength to pull him along. Commendable was merely that it was not commented on, and a bit more strength came back to him when seeing the piano player’s encouraging smile. A girl he must have seen in one or another class already because she looked and sounded familiar. But her moves seemed to be in slow motion as she handed them a stack of sheets each, decorated in musical lines he hadn’t seen in years, looking like a puzzle, mathematical riddle to solve, more than anything else to him.

“Elkie,” Ten commanded, plopping into a chair with a thud without a bother. Instantly soft piano hues started to fill out the auditorium and suddenly Renjun wished he had a bit more of an idea of music sheets and how to read them for he didn’t know what to do with it, what his parts or Jaemin’s were. Wasn’t he even supposed to question why their teacher allowed to boys to audition for the main roles suddenly? Or was having twins act in a love plot more questionable? It was a bunch of questions that had him toppled over in his mind and he would have rolled down a metaphorical hill further if not for the sudden, “New kid! Hey!”

His eyes snapped to the teacher in reflex, wide and startled when he hadn’t even noticed the so very obvious reason for as to why he was called out to. It took some seconds for him to realize it was otherwise silent within the auditorium, until the educator spoke up again, “It was your idea, Jaemin, so start singing. Better hope your little boy toy will get it.”

Maybe it was just their teacher who was questionable, making Renjun wish he wasn’t quite as fluent in Korean but he didn’t protest to it, didn’t dare to. Instead he focused on the fingers curling around his palm, squeezing reassuringly and giving off an impression of security. This time, when the music started and the brunet’s voice started to transcend throughout the room, timid at first but growing more confident, Renjun found it a bit easier to join in.

  


･*:.｡. .｡.:*･

  
Jeno had been caught in a trance since what felt like morning, lasting him even to the current time of settling at his usual lunch table, next to his sister. On instinct, he leaned against her, resting his head on her shoulder like the pitiful puppy he didn’t even need to be told he resembled. “Why?” He only asked, but there were no words needed between them for Yeeun to understand what this was about. 

“It’s only once, Jen,” Yeeun immediately spoke up, raising one hand to pat her brother’s equally blond hair. But then she already pushed him away and rather dipped some fries into a weird concoction of canned cheese and mayonnaise. Fortunately she was his twin or he’d really need to feel judgemental of her eating preferences. “Even if that never happened before, it doesn’t mean we can’t do it.” 

Involuntarily he released a distressed groan, moving to bury his head in his arms resting on the tabletop rather than her shoulder when her eating movements jostled him too much. Partly he was indeed upset over the fact they had to do call backs but the way but what was even worse was the reason they had been asked to go through the trouble of having the whole drama club decide on the main acts. Never before had Ten not been able to decide on who would play the lead and now for these two…

After years of friendship, he had never so much as heard Jaemin sing in the showers and now, suddenly, their star player was with that new kid? Singing? When Jeno had first seen the paper hung up, he had been close to tears because of how unfair it was, the mere fact that he had tried several times to get his crush interested in singing at several points in time only to be rejected and all it needed was some cute pretty boy for Nana to be interested- 

“Hey, Jaem!” Lucas’ voice echoed through the dining hall with ease, the surprise of it enough to startle even Jeno out of his self-pity and hopeless pining. It was so weird, to not be friends exactly but still feel so close to Jaemin and that unrelentless flirting and the little touches that seemed inappropriate for someone whom he hadn’t hung out with in months if not years. It was a weird limbo he didn’t want to indulge so getting upset about that puppy-like giant was easier to be done, especially when Lucas kept shouting, “Your uncle was seething in PE! You owe me some for the fifty push-ups we had to do today because of you!”

“As if you didn’t enjoy flexing,” Jaemin basically purred in return, something Jeno could only listen in to because the athletic jock table was close enough to their usual one, the one that offered both Yeeun and him the best view over the entirety of the hall. With a bit of reluctance the singer raised his head to watch their school’s golden boy, slender fingers caressing along Lucas’ toned arms to emphasize his point before settling. “And he’ll get over it. It’s not like it’s that big of a deal.”

“Man… You know it’s not that easy for Johnny.” Mark shook his head in denial but still pushed out one chair with his foot, the seat at the round table leaving Jaemin in a perfect point of view for Jeno to look at. So perfect it had the blond’s ears heat up with merely their gazes meeting but the blinding smile sent his way was merely replied to with a stern gaze from his side. “He’s more up your ass about your future than even your dad, Jae. You shouldn’t underestimate that.”

“It will be okay. He’ll calm down.” Sometimes the singer couldn’t understand just where Jaemin got his neverending belief from, it was admirable in a way and surely among the reasons as to why their team kept winning the regionals since they had a new captain to show off.

“But musical? Really?” Mark asked in a quite serious way that had Jeno nearly agitated. Was musical that bad? His lips pushed into a pout as he considered that option. “And why now, of all times? We have a playoff next week.”

“If Nana focused on that more, at least we wouldn’t have callbacks,” Yeeun pointed out, a little teasing smile on her lips as he noticed she had followed his line of sight. The mere fact that she copied his bad habit of spying on a boy she knew he had the hots for was embarrassing, to say the least. It was upsetting to the point it had him jutting out his lower lip a bit as he looked at her.

Easy way out would be for him to just agree with her, because she was right, if Jaemin did focus more on the basketball practices, their coach would likely not let him off again. But then it meant he wouldn’t be able to hear that desired singing even just once in his life, even more so, “Aren’t you looking forward to talk Elkie into giving you her notes?” If it went his way, they had long since started to make use of the music equipment they were allowed to play around with at home and give all those songs a bit of an upgrade. Reality was that, as much as Yeeun had to suffer through his pining, he was aware quite as well of his sister’s crush on their club’s piano girl. Admittedly, Elkie was adorable but the mere knowledge of how their parents would likely not approve of her…

With a sigh, he pushed himself off, not awaiting his sister’s reply for she would likely just splutter around. “I’ll get myself something to eat. You want something more?” With a patient smile, he barely so awaited her order of sweets he could easily remember by now. 

That same smile disappeared off his lips some seconds later as he turned around and took the first steps, still listening with one ear to Yeeun’s rambles about how he shouldn’t forget about her drink , when there was a sudden collision against his chest. Immediately it was followed by heat penetrating his shirt that had him gasping and yanking the fabric forth so it wouldn’t cling to his skin any longer, the way he was stretching at it also making visible what it was to have hit him.

The white of his shirt was now dyed an ugly red of whatever his offender had eaten and of all things… His expression hardened when he recognized the smaller male in front of him, eyes turning stern as he watched the boy looking intimidated for a mere second before dark orbs glazed over with impish resistance. Merely watching the way that slender jaw tightened was making obvious how the tension between them was not just one-sided, might have started either of them to break into heated words even.

Both their saviors turned out to be not only Donghyuck with a holler of “Oh, Jeno finally got some” but also Ten, having been tasked with lunch supervision, pointing out, “That stain is neither fashionable not concordant with school regulations. Go get dressed in something else, Jeno. And you” - the blond followed the teacher’s line of sight to Renjun - “better watch where you’re going in the future.”

“Yes, sir,” the exchange student replied obediently, it was nearly endearing, that meak voice. How had that kid even managed to get into callbacks? The question weighed heavy on his tongue, to the point he nearly blurted it out to the Thai, only holding himself back to save himself some embarrassment in front of Renjun. Or the total of their school.

“Man, that was a nice one, Jun,” Donghyuck went on, pushing the smaller boy away from the place of trouble with an arm around his waist that was easily slapped off.

“Donghyuck,” Ten called out while simultaneously turning Jeno around towards the entrance of the hall. “You better be quiet or you’ll get into detention today.”

“You wouldn’t, sir. You hate having me around,” Donghyuck shot back with a bright smile on that had Jeno retching with the fakeness of it all. But then he let go of his shirt and felt the stickiness against his skin that had him grimacing at the disgusting sensation of it. Better get rid of that first before he focuses on how to get rid of that new kid next. 

What he had thought to be a good way of de-stressing after the tumultuous day proved to rather contra-effective when once again, “Yen, how can you die without even reaching the point?” His voice came out as more of a whine but, what was he supposed to do after watching his sister die for the third time in a row because of one single Moira orb? “I told you to not choose Bastion. You suck with him.”

“It’s the mouse,” she immediately whined in return, an excuse they both knew was rather poor when it was the same mouse she always used for gaming. Already did Jeno regret having allowed her to join him, much as he loved his twin sister, she was really horrible at gaming, no matter him having carried her through several hundred of levels by now. It hadn’t even been his choice to play Overwatch of all things, Battleground might have been a better option of relieving his tension but alas, he was as weak for her puppy eyes as she was for his. 

By sheer luck and good teammates, it didn’t end as as much of a disaster, they did better at defending Paris’ second point and while the screen showed their score and loaded the change of sides, Yeeun leaned aside to catch a glimpse of him past the computer screens. “What are you actually thinking about?”

Lightly he raised his eyebrow at her, there were a lot of things he thought about: how could they share most of her genes but she still ended up as abysmal gamer? why was it their pajamas always matched without them coordinating in first place? why, for goodness’ sake, did Doyoung need to mention the callbacks during dinner and drag down his mood once again? 

“I hear your brain working.” Yeeun stated simple and with horror the boy watched as she chose Widowmaker. On this map. “I’ll switch to tank if you tell me what’s actually bothering you.”

He didn’t want to actually talk about it but looking at his Diamond rank and considering he had been climbing up a bit more recently, it seemed to be less of a loss to confess his thoughts. Not like she wouldn’t get it out of him anyways, sooner or later. “Orisa,” he demanded and waited merely for her icon to change before he, too, made his decision for Ashe. “Jaemin and the play.”

Even if he wanted to further elaborate - which he didn’t, least he’d get all upset again - he didn’t have a chance to when the countdown already had hit zero, marking their being able to leave the spawn. Paris was by far not his favorite map, it was new and a bit rougher to navigate but point control was always a bit more fun to play than escorting. Neither did he deem it necessary to indulge the topic, he was more than certain that Yeeun had already figured what this was about.

When Jaemin and him had first met, spending their seventh school year together, it was easy to develop a crush. Too shy to act on it, Jeno had just swallowed it down and whined to his sister at night but then, as their wishes for the future had crystalized more clearly and they had grown more invested in their individual hobbies, he had thought it would simply pass. It hadn’t. Not entirely, at least, because while he was able to act as casual with Jaemin still, each flirty line was making his ears heat up and every lingering touch left his skin burning. Much to his sister’s amusement and his embarrassment.

For a while, mostly the clicking of their respective mouse and fingers hitting keyboards could be heard, here and there interrupted by the voice lines resounding muffled through their headsets. “Ult!” Jeno demanded, just as he send BOB into the point, immediately the blue line of Orisa’s charge connecting to the robot and from there on it was easy game, golden flash parting their screens horizontally and while his rank didn’t rise by another count, the influx of credits was at least satisfying.

Immediately after the game’s declaration, Yeeun had moved to look at him again, eyes squinted together as she looked at him. “Is it about ‘Jaemin and the play’ or ‘Jaemin and Renjun and the play’?” Hammer hit the nail, and his lips pushed into a pout that gave the answer away, resulting in her simple, “A-ha.” And then, some seconds later, “I thought he’d be your type, though.”

“Huh?” His eyes widened comically as, this time around, he leaned past the screens to look at her, and snatch a milk candy from her side of the disk since he was at it. It was one thing for her to jump to the (justified) conclusion that his chagrin with Jaemin’s sudden interest in singing was amplified by the reason for it being another boy but it was a totally different matter for her to insinuate his intrigue with someone else than his favorite golden boy.

“You have a thing for boys with a surprising charm,” Yeeun went on with ease, only glimpsing at the screen for a second, showing they’d have to battle on Nepal next and with it being Sanctum, she easily conceded to his recommendation of Lucio. “The first time you said Doyoung was cool was when you saw a picture of his ‘punk phase’.” Up to this day, it most definitely did not match with the image of their uncle carried outside, with that soothing voice and guest appearances in baking shows, of all things. It was an embarrassing memory of his, though, enough to have warmth creep up his neck. “You rambled about Jaemin’s chic image and sweet personality for months. Renjun looking like the type you’d want to protect but having a sharp tongue would fit with your tendency to fall for unexpected charms.”

“I didn’t fall for Doyoung,” he weakly pointed. Despite not seeing his twin at the moment, he could very well imagine the kind of face she made at the moment. Unfortunately, Jeno didn’t even manage to come up with an excuse as to why he would be so against Renjun, whose name he had unwillingly learnt, aside from the mere fact that Jaemin was so smitten with him. Under different circumstances, he might have looked at the tiny boy as a way to forget his original crush even.

“Please,” Yeeun finally huffed when they lost the round and waited for the Shrine to load. “Doyoung was as much of your gay awakening as Jungwoo dressed in drag was mine.” Which said a lot, because they must have both been only five and some years old when these occurrences took place. Jeno just felt lucky he had never looked up how often sexual preferences matched among twins or he’d have to question even more of his life.

“Talking of gay awakenings,” he started, halting for a moment as he was more focused on stunning an enemy Mercy with his shield and swishing his Brigitta’s hammer against the opposite heal. They escaped last second towards but still showed up on his hit list the next moment. “Can’t you just charme Elkie into giving us the better song?” 

Right then he already regretted asking that moment for his sister froze in her place and was killed off instantly. Serves her and her silver rank right to make him feel all flustered before. Fingers crossed that wouldn’t lower his ranking now, though. “‘m not sure what you’re talking about…”

His own reply, delayed by his wanting to win over the point finally, was beaten by a knock to their already open door and the sight of their uncle entering the room. “It’s time to go to bed, you two. Finish your game and then get going before I pull the plug. Again.” A silent shiver ran down Jeno’s back at the threat, remembering the time during holidays Doyoung had indeed done so and it had lead to him receiving a game warning for leaving in the middle of the match, much to his dismay. 

It served as grand motivation for him to focus one last time, ending the game with most gold medals on his feed despite it having been their defeat. While clicking around to close the game and turn off the PC, he muttered silently, “Much as I talked about Nana, you talked about Elkie, traitor.”

Looking down at him from her elevated standing position, Yeeun shot back, “Better be quiet or I won’t even ask her about those two are doing.” Then she merely waved and swept out of the room with a grace that was only disrupted by her hitting her toe against the frame and then jumping the short distance to her own room. Served her right, again, Jeno figured, and pushed the thoughts of Renjun possibly looking cute aside again.

  


･*:.｡. .｡.:*･

  
Lessons getting cancelled had both its ups and downs. One of the downs was that most definitely their teachers would turn into old evil demons and give them twice the workload to catch up with their return and thus filling the waiting time with dread. Whereas the ups were quite easier to catch onto. Especially with the weather being nice, the sun shining brightly, and the secret knowledge of Renjun sharing most of Jaemin’s classes so the latter had slipped a paper over (he didn’t dare even think of a phone during Ten time again) that told the older to come up onto the roof during their break. 

The sweet scent of jasmine tea ran ahead Renjun’s appearance but the sound of steps being so hesitant had the athlete smiling softly, turning wider when finally seeing the fluffy brown hair come up the steps as seen through the glassy door. The surprise on the new student’s face was evident upon seeing the little deck covered in potted plants that bloomed beautifully and, without doubt, Jaemin himself was the prettiest flower among them all. That’s what he told himself, at least.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” He chirped happily as he gestured the smaller to come over to where he was sitting on a bench, and with the additional weight added to the wooden planks, he turned sideways to be able to lean onto the wall. From up here, their school looked so small, albeit doing little in diminishing the echoes coming up their way from the soccer field several floors below. Then, when seeing Renjun nod in agreement, he added, “Quite like you.”

The hit his knee took in return was definitely not what he deserved, though. No matter how cute the Chinese boy looked sipping from a thermo cup of tea immediately after, as if that little act of violence had never taken place.

Just because he had been quite as amazed by the sight during his first times he allowed the other to enjoy it some more, the silence between them feeling easy. Merely the calm before the storm for, soon enough, Renjun started, “I overheard some of your teammates on the way up. One of them mentioned the coach having been actually livid about you trying out musical…?”

Unfair, it was truly unfair, the Chinese boy being so adorably concerned, that was. For the simple reason that it had Jaemin swooning in his seat and his eyes turning into reasonable hearts as he looked at the fairy-like one. “Don’t worry about that. Basketball is a sensitive topic for Johnny since…” His voice faded out, not entirely sure how to breach a topic that was so sensitive among his family. So he just smiled and evaded, “Since a while now. He’s just really happy for me to already have scouting offers so he’d rather I focus on that during the upcoming matches. But wanna hear a secret?” For the effect alone he couldn’t resist adding a wink.

The second slap was also not justified but more easily forgiven when seeing the light tint coloring Renjun’s cheeks. Prompting for an answer also came in a silent way, as the older merely raised his eyebrows so Jaemin went on, “He’s not allowed to badmouth music because of my father. If he dared, neither dad nor father would cook for him anymore and that he wouldn’t dare risk. Doesn’t mean he won’t make practice utter hell.”

“Masochist,” the smaller muttered into his cup and, okay, maybe that was for a reason because the ace player felt the bright smile still tugging up the corners of his mouth. But how not to smile with such pretty being in front of him? “So you have… two dads? The coach?”

“Oh!” Right, Renjun was not as knowledged about his family as most of this gossip-infected school was, making his family life - and the reason for the involvement with their basketball coach - a well known story. Most of it, at least. “Johnny is like my uncle! My dad, Jaehyun, and him were best friends since long so they just moved together and became my family. And then my dad met Taeyong and now we’re just a big happy family.” Plus Mark, because somehow all of them had bonded over speaking English, making it a mystery to Jaemin just why both he and his father had picked up nothing much of that language so far. (The mere fact Taeyong still went to Jaehyun to translate and help with English mails was kind of cute, though.)

“Ah… Me too,” Renjun mumbled in return, then must have realized how odd that sounded, and how hard it was to file the statement. Seeing him all flustered in the most subdued way was making the player’s day, though, so he didn’t protest. “I mean, I currently live with my brother. And his boyfriend. So I know about funny family circumstances.”

“And your parents are…?”

“Busy with work.” The reply seemed a bit sad but not filled with remorse or anger, so it was easier for Jaemin to understand. Merely the idea of being apart from his own parents had driven him insane as child, and they had left him alone for their two weeks honeymoon back then, after all. A little bit of surprise overcame him when the older breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m glad to live with Sicheng though. If you never live in the same city for even a year, you grow pretty exhausted of traveling around. And those weren’t even pretty places.”

The grimace Renjun showed was nothing but adorable to the younger who immediately smiled widely, allowing silence to settle between them for a while. When Renjun had previously arrived, it had already been comfortable like this, and it was soothing to know that even after getting closer it was still that way, not turning into awkwardness. There were few people with whom he could share a sentiment like this, like ever easy-going Mark and, oddly enough, also Jeno still. Maybe he would be able to even with Lucas but that kid just never shut up.

As if the thought of one of them had been enough of an conjuration, the next moment he could already see the brown-haired fiddled with a sleeve before asking, “You and Jeno… Is there something I should know? Because he doesn’t seem to like me being around you much?”

“Ah…” As much as he’d prefer not seeing it, there was no denying how his longtime friend was particularly rude towards Renjun, and that said a lot when usually Jeno was all too much of a gentle puppy, just smiling at the things going on around him. Though, with how much popularity either of them had gotten, mostly for superficial reasons, it also didn’t surprise him if either of them had possibly become a bit more wary of new people. “There’s nothing going on between us.” Albeit at one point in time he might have wished for that… “He’s just…”

Now that he thought about it, he had no idea why exactly Jeno was like that. Well, he had seen the dark gazes thrown at girls confessing to him before but wasn’t that just coincidence? They didn’t even have much to do with each other, and it was not like anything had ever been initiated either. 

“You know what,” he suddenly said, jumping up from the bench with ease, and just to alleviate the strain of sitting all day in classrooms he stretched upwards a bit. For Renjun’s comfort he acted as if he hadn’t seen the gaze thrown to his exposed midriff. “We should have another free period next so maybe we could look into the song Elkie prepared for the musical. She’s really a genius in that area!”

The smaller’s shy smile was enough approval for him to, with a little jump in his step, head on towards the door and back to where they came from to look for the drama club’s piano player for real.

  


･*:.｡. .｡.:*･

  
“Even if you’re not going to join our club, at least have lunch with us,” Donghyuck had said some days ago. 

“It will be fun,” Donghyuck also had said that day.

But so far, it had only been another continuous day of Renjun wanting to shoot his brains out on behalf of them. Meeting with Jaemin on the rooftop when they happened to have shared free periods but with Elkie being caught up in classes usually was a time of reprieve. They just small-talked easily and worked on their harmonization for the song with a recording of her piano tunes played from their phones. (Which he felt quite thankful to the other Chinese for because she kept adjusting her music sheets whenever she deemed worthy for them and she always was patient with their slow learning curve. Not to mention the Cantonese that sometimes slipped helped him learn a bit of that too.)

Lunch was a tiring time, mostly because the basketball team kept throwing him dirty glances, something he should be used to, after all, he had been the odd one out more often than just once. Merely the fact that he could have gotten closer with two of them over the fact they were all foreigners was making him feel off. (Especially when Elkie had once mentioned her and Lucas getting along really well, with sharing a hometown and all.) 

Jeno, too, and some other regulars of the drama club apparently were no fans of him and yet he had not been able to sort out whether or not this was merely because he was an intruder to their routine or a side effect of what he had dubbed the Queen Bee Effect in his head. Simply because their oh so great leaders made a decision, it didn’t mean they all had to follow but then again, if it were that easy, they’d never have been caught in any historically compromising situations in first place.

Alas, he had ended up stuck with the science kids and that was a torture through and through. Donghyuck was already a tiring person to be around and Renjun would never admit that their bickering was, to some extent, also thrilling to him, a welcome little change of pace to, bit by bit, release some of his tension. Not to mention the satisfaction of having someone to actually be able to stand their ground in front of him, he wasn’t used to that anymore. Yuta had tried at first but then stopped once he had figured just smiling and allowing the student to rage it out was a way better option to resolve situations.

Yet his classmate was nothing in comparison to Yangyang, who was apparently part of the same year but, wondrously, didn’t share a single class with Renjun. In the beginning, he had thought of the younger as a welcome companion - parents moving around, having to learn new languages, all that jazz. That dreamy image shattered the moment the boy had actually let loose of his image and started to turn into a sneaky cheeky, loud and boisterous child. It was enough to give Renjun an obligatory headache every lunch break again.

Amidst these two, any other science club members seemed like a blurry memory to the new student, and today he just didn’t feel up to it. Blame it on the approaching full moon or something, he just couldn’t bear with it. “Still need to finish a literature reading,” he thus said, halfway through his meal that tasted so dull without any Chinese spices or the effort of his two housemates put into it.  
After that, he didn’t even attempt a smile or a farewell, only grabbed his tray to put to the return station, picking up some dried fruits from a vending machine, and then made his way to the library. At least there he’d have his calm and serenity and could read in peace, all the more so since the librarian had allowed him to drink his tea as long as it stayed several inches away from any book he had borrowed. A curious thing, because it had him figuring out the perfect way of propping a book against another to get the angle just right, his keychain keeping the pages apart when they were too sturdy to stay open on their own. Like that, he was able to lean back in his chair and sip his drink peacefully, though.

Spending his lunch break like this, inhaling the sweet scent of jasmine while nibbling on dried and candied pieces of fruit was much more his thing than the rumor of the lunch hall and two idiots screaming into his ears. He could hear very well, thank you.

He also didn’t like them because of all the attention he suddenly garnered. Before he had always been a nobody, no one kept up with the nerds - at least unless they were called Lee Donghyuck, apparently - and he could just walk through the halls without unwanted attention. Excluding that of bullies, at least. Or of any friends he could have possibly made. But then again, it wasn’t like they’d stick around with him when he’d be forced to move away sooner or later anyways. 

Gossip had travelled faster here than in any other school before, though, and suddenly everyone seemed to know him and how he had not only managed to force the school’s most famous twins to have to go through a second round of musical election but, all the more so, with the scholastic equivalent of Bachelor of the Year, first place: Na Jaemin. It was tiring, and as he ignored the slight tremble that stirred the surface of his tea, he simply tried to drown himself in the theory of exorbital life without thinking of how many of them might possibly watch that way more public second round of auditioning.  
Too bad he was already hooked to singing with Jaemin, and in way too deep...

  


･*:.｡. .｡.:*･

  
“Where’s Elkie?” Was the first thing Jeno asked when seeing his sister approach down the aisle between he rows of chairs that made up the seating area of the theater at the exact same time she said, “Houston, we got a problem.” 

Lightly he raised his eyebrows at her saying these words, not exactly catching on to what she meant. How much bigger a problem could there be than Ten evaluating someone to be on their level at least? Not to mention Elkie not yet being around, cutting their rehearsal short.

It took only some short moments for Yeeun to drop her backpack onto Ten’s table in the first row and then heave herself up onto the stage, sitting next to him cross-legged on the ground. “I wanted to pick her up but she was still with Jaemin and Renjun. Those two actually sound good, like, really good. I think we actually gotta notch it up a bit.”

On one hand, it was cute, for his twin to still make the effort to pick the piano player up on the way to practice, much like the loverboy in about any teen drama before the date. Only that Yeeun was still hopelessly pining and this was not a date at all. Making all efforts of courting be in vain if she wouldn’t finally step up to confess. Just that his bringing that up usually lead to a banter of who should confess first and that was something he didn’t want to risk when his stomach churned uncomfortably whenever he thought of the basketball player.

“I guess we could ask Doyoung for equipment?” He asked, leaning back to support his weight on his hands behind him, head tilted behind until he could stare up at the ceiling with it’s metal poles and spotlights installed. It wouldn’t be the first time they made a composition based on Elkie’s piano tunes to upgrade their musicals a bit but most of the time they did that for fun only. Those were still her songs and her decisions to make, both Jeno and Yeeun could only make proposals or play around a bit at home.

“We’d need Elkie’s approval first,” Yeeun basically pouted but he was certain that was more thanks to the fact that their musician was not around rather than the fact that they actually had to ask. Lovestruck like a puppy but maybe they had inherited that trait from their uncle, too. 

For a while the space between them was filled with silence, it made him restless, he wanted to practice and whereas they had a recording of their song, he much prefered to have Elkie sitting there, playing for them. Those files on their phones were mostly for when she could not be around because spare them trying to shove a piano into their bathroom for when Yeeun was singing while showering, it was bad enough it usually led to him being stuck outside with the toothbrush between his lips. 

Then he realized something else, something about her words that struck him only now. “You heard them singing?” A tiny bit he now felt jealous of his sister too, for years of attending the same classes - including music - with Jaemin, he had never heard the younger sing. It made him push his lower lip up slightly as he considered that, sulking quite like the responsible adolescent he was. First that new kid showed up and now his sister had heard his crush sing even before him.

“They’re good,” she repeated, again, emphasizing her point that she definitely hadn’t made clear so far. “That kid harmonizes well, sounds a bit mellower than Doyoung’s. Actually, like the kind you’d want for a lullaby.” From her gaze alone, Jeno could tell Yeeun was aware of what he actually wanted to know, that little mischievous spark in her eyes. The door banging interrupted their conversation, making it impossible for him to ask for more information at the moment albeit he promised to himself he would do so later, for now a very upset Ten marched down the aisles.

“Think he saw Johnny flexing again?” The blond whispered, much to his sister’s amusement who laughed under her breath, quickly sobering up when seeing their teacher’s heated gaze.

“This dumb... Can you believe that idiot of a coach got angry at me? me? For supposedly stealing Jaemin away from him and ‘ruining his future’?” The adult cursed while plopping down into his chair, and if only possible his eyes would probably twitch in irritation. Probably no one except Johnny dared cross the smaller’s path and arouse that tiny fury. “I want to give the role to Jaemin just to spite him but that wouldn’t be fair towards you two.”

Silently the twins exchanged a look, having a conversation with their eyes alone, albeit that mostly consisted of their usual “Ten and his unresolved sexual tension” look. Doyoung had told them it had been that way since college, actually, the whole thing of wanting the other party to take the first step thanks to too much pride and all.

“Also,” the educator interrupted their non-verbal education, looking a bit less tense by now, “We’ll have to delay the callback for a few hours. One of my sisters needs me to pick her up from the hospital so I’m giving you a heads up. I’ll pin a notification to the bulletin later too.”

Not that it bothered Jeno much but, “Won’t it collide with the regionals then?” It felt unfair to Jaemin, much as the singer didn’t care about the delay, it was inevitable to know about the basketball game when it was one of the school’s most favored topic of gossip and betting. (The latter being something headmaster Moon better never knows about.)

“That’s their problem to deal with. I won’t ditch my sister for Johnny’s stupid group.” Ten rolled his eyes in assertion of his words. At this point Jeno really wasn’t certain whether that was pettiness and unresolved desires talking or not. He was certain it was not his decision to make, though. 

Yeeun next to him, after turning to their educator, huffed softly. “I think he means team.” From where she had moved to sit more next than opposite him, he could glimpse at her grin from the corner of her eyes. Trust Ten to get sport terms messed up. Although that, too, might be partly intentional and just another thing to use to rile Johnny up as it happened with no other teacher to date.

With the teacher not pursuing that topic any further, neither explaining as to why his sister needed to be picked up from hospital, of all things, it was silent yet again. It seemed pressing, the lack of sound, within the big hall when usually it was filled with singing or the clamor of working on the stage designs of their upcoming show. 

For a while, that seemed to go by unnoticed, no one pointing it out and Jeno’s fingers were already itching to pull out his phone and play games again when Ten asked, “Why are you not practicing yet?”  
“Elkie’s missing,” Yeeun pointed with a light shrug, a sidestep to the question when both siblings were aware their piano player was currently with the other duo, likely having overlooked the time rather than intentionally ditching them. 

The adult only raised an eyebrow lightly, then, much to her embarrassment, asked, “Trouble in paradise?” It was funny enough for Jeno to laugh about, even if it was at his own sister’s expanse. “Tell her when you see her then. Now, don’t you have it recorded as usual? I’ll tell you when you’re off.”

“Sure, sir,” Jeno smiled, getting up smoothly, and walked over to the audio system to plug in his phone. Even if it was practice for a callback only, it was reassuring to know there was someone to tell them when they’re off when usually that would be Elkie’s task to take.

  


･*:.｡. .｡.:*･

  
“I’m sorry! I’m-” Jaemin didn’t even get to finish his sentence when Lucas already passed him a ball with more force than needed. It was unusual for Lucas to do so, considering their tallest player was as threatening as a puppy, but then again, the Hong Kong borne was also quite as loyal as one so his having missed most of practice just short of a game must have been a bummer to the team. 

“Save it,” Johnny said in anyone’s stead, one second before blowing his whistle and that, in turn, drew everyone’s attention. It was just an extra, anyone would have listened had he just called for attention, as well, but now Jaemin was not only scrutinized by his uncle’s gaze but the whole team’s. The first was already bad enough, he couldn’t remember another time he had ever made his uncle upset, it was usually the other way around, was Johnny saving him from scolding rather than anything else. Add to that the disappointed and accusing looks of the other players and he felt more than pitiful under their focus. “Where were you?”

The question was unnecessary, he was certain everyone knew where he had been but answering that would make him even more guilty. “At singing practice…” He answered truthfully, pride being the only reason he had not lowered his head just yet.

All he hoped he would never see was displayed on his coach’s face and whereas he could understand the reasons behind, it didn’t lessen the effect it had on him the least. Within an instant, all the joy he had felt while listening to his own voice mingling with Renjun’s wonderful tones evaporated, faded into thin air, and he was left feeling about having let his team down. “John-”

“No.” It was a single word and still enough to make the whole team quiet down to the point each breath could be heart within the gym. “You’re the captain, Jaemin. When I assigned you that spot, you promised to be the first to come and the last to leave but where were you when all of them are putting in their best effort for the game next week?”

Each word hurt like a punch to his chest, made him helplessly look around their faces but even Mark, good-natured and gentle Mark, was looking at him with a bit of disappointment maring his eyes. “I’ll make it up-”

“It’s not an individual sport, Jaemin,” Johnny shut him up, sigh heavy as it left his lips. “You can practice alone but it won’t improve your teamplay. Are all of them supposed to make up for your missing practice?”

“I’m sorry…” He repeated, nervously chewing on his lower lip because much as he didn’t want to hear it, he couldn’t deny the truth behind these words. “It won’t happen again, tomorrow I’ll be on time for sure!”

“You better.” There were a lot of words that went by unspoken between his uncle and him, that much Jaemin was aware of, hidden meanings he pushed aside because he didn’t want to think about them now. All he could do in response was nod his head and then, again, Johnny blew the whistle and practice picked up all over again, warm up because of him, practice shots and defensive moves, until they were out of breath and only then the practice matches began.

“Hey, Jae,” Kunhang called out to him the next day during lunch, waving him over and the mere fact the other didn’t seem as upset anymore was enough for Jaemin to naively follow along and into the empty classroom. What he didn’t anticipate, though, was the whole team to be assembled, looking at him either somewhat upset, accusing, or sorry. It was hard to figure what this was about at first.  
Instead of a proper explanation he was handed someone’s phone, a picture put there for him to look at and he was quick to realize the context now, why they had all gathered up like this. The screen showed a paper on their bulletin announcing callbacks being pushed back for a while, coincidentally to collide with the time of their game, making it de facto impossible for him to attend both the musical audition and the regionals. One second of looking at the picture was enough to make his heart drop, freezing over with the realization he could only choose between his team - and at the same time his family - or a spontaneous idea and spending more time with Renjun.

Memories of old conversations, mostly his dad’s tone rather than proper images, flashed through his mind for a moment and his heart broke for more reasons than one as he looked at them one by one but stopped at Mark’s face eventually. Pleading.

“This is not about us, Jae,” his neighbor only said, fumbling with the hem of his shirt and the distress was so evident in his vice’s posture. “We can’t help you out there but we also can’t do this without you. If you’re not with us, we can’t play with the same confidence. I’m not even planning on using the past against you because this is about us, not Johnny or your dad, but, Nana, think about it well.”  
“What’s there to think about?” Lucas interrupted, clearly frowning at Mark, losing his temper in such unusual way all over again when it was about the team. That, of all things, was enough to make Jaemin acutely aware of the seriousness of the situation. “We’re his team so he should stick with us, right?”

Any other time and the mixed boy’s display of affection, albeit in a bit more crude way, would make Jaemin smile, not it only had him chewing on his lower lip, thinking the whole situation over in his head. It was barely a week until both the game and callbacks so his decision could be considered rushed either way. Either he would disappoint one boy - one absolutely adorable and heart attack inducingly sweet boy - or the whole team and his uncle at once. Thinking like this it should be an easy decision to make but for some reason it wasn’t. Well, one specific reason, because the idea of letting Renjun down made his heart clench painfully. 

The smile he conjured upon his face felt wrong and his tongue too heavy for the words he spoke, “Guys, come on! You’re my team, of course I’ll be with you!” Every syllable made his guts twist within his stomach but at least Lucas’ imaginary puppy ears and wagging tail were back, letting him find a hint of solace in that. “Who even cares about musical when I have my team with me, right?”

It would definitely be easier to speak these words would they not feel so phony and off coming from him. Because he did care about that musical, maybe not so much because of the acting itself but the meaning it held to do it with Renjun but if it was for his team, for the people he had spent years with, he was sure he could manage to pull it off. 

“And what about your partner?” Kunhang suddenly asked, speaking the words that dampened the mood within an instant, several pairs of eyes directed at him and filled with curiosity, waiting for his answer.

Actually, what about Renjun? The boy was making his heart flutter and brightened rooms with his sole attendance and flirty as he usually was, those were things Jaemin felt himself unable to say out loud to his teammates. “He’s not important either,” he forced out carefully, and whereas he must have seemed convincing enough for most of them, he couldn’t help feeling Mark’s probing eyes on him or the little frown on Lucas’ expression. This was bad in incredible ways.

  


･*:.｡. .｡.:*･

  
“Jun-ah, c’mon,” Donghyuck pestered him once again, both arms tightly wrapped around one of his own in a manner that was way too clingy for Renjun to bear but also impossible to shake off. He had yet to officially enter any club, most of all the science club, but with callbacks approaching he wasn’t certain it wouldn’t be the drama club he might have to inevitably enter. If Jaemin and him made it through callbacks, that was, and Jeno had seemed pretty adamant about winning. 

Elkie had previously mentioned how the twins were quite eager about musicals, mostly the brother because of some familial circumstances but the Chinese hadn’t wanted to dig too deep into personal matters. As much as he was curious, it felt wrong to squeeze information out of someone who didn’t tell him personally. 

“The tournament is next week and we really need someone like you,” the younger whined so pitifully and it would be more believable had he not experienced a lot of different approaches before. This one, too, was mostly only bearable because it was Donghyuck alone, without Yangyang playing the second lead so far. Else he’d have to consider this as more of a headache than it already was. “You have seen our team, we can’t do this without someone actually being good at science!”

Honestly, it was no surprise. At this point, Renjun was quite certain Donghyuck had only founded that club to have an excuse to play games all the time without considering the consequences of having to take part in interscholastic activities. After all, who’d ever consider something like tournaments in science? Apparently everyone but that airhead next to him. Not that it was a hopeless case, Renjun was quite certain that with the right kind of effort someone like that persistent brat could easily learn everything. And generally the the honey sculpture wasn’t even that bad - as long as it wasn’t about the science club, at least.

When the younger opened his mouth once again, the new student was quick to shoot him down with, “If you dare mention it again, I won’t hesitate to roll up your math book and shove it down your throat.”

“First of all, ew,” the taller protested with a grimace, putting a sudden stop to their walk as he continued, “Second, isn’t that the basketball team with your Jaemin? Seems to be serious if you ask me.” Except those words definitely didn’t fit with the gleeful expression shown on the younger’s face, delighted at the prospect of gossip served on a silver platter and Renjun knew they should rather walk forward than stay behind. So what if the door was left open, he was certain this was still a private moment they were not supposed to eavesdrop on. Just that he did, along with Donghyuck, and he couldn’t even blame the younger for that.

But overhearing just what they were talking about, he couldn’t help feeling frozen in his spot. It didn’t sound fair, the way this team put their own star player into a situation of having to choose between A and B, resembling the awful question of mom and dad and whereas any other child might have despaired over that question, Renjun would have always answered with Sicheng’s name. So he knew there was an option C, one not everyone could or wanted to see. Only that, though, didn’t explain why it hurt to hear Jaemin choose basketball over him anyways.

Well, it partly explained it because there were nicer ways to word that. Jaemin didn’t care about musicals? Renjun wasn’t important to him? It seemed ironic to hear these words now when the basketball player himself had been the one to talk him into this whole thing in first place. Even if singing had turned out to be fun for him, he hardly doubted he’d have dared come out of his shell and try something like that if not for the athlete. It had happened during New Year’s and it had happened again mere days ago. Taking only the time spent together into consideration, it shouldn’t affect him that much but maybe this school was making him softer, knowing he’d stick around for good this time and having people actually approach him had him open up a bit. Now this was causing fractures to places he had only just glued together.

There was nothing more he wanted to listen to so he went on, not minding whether Donghyuck stayed or not he headed to the entrance hall first to find the bulletin board. He had just heard it all so he wasn’t even supposed to check but he couldn’t help himself, as if a little part of him had persevered and held onto hope that was crushed nonetheless. 

Only when he heard a delighted “Renjun!” did he look up and glance over to a cheerful and approaching Yangyang, wry smile on his own lips. “Hey, say, the tournament is scheduled for the same time as the basketball game, right?”

His fellow Chinese looked a bit startled by the question, quickly changing into a brimming smile and an affirmative, “Yes! But…” It was easy to see how Yangyang’s eyes drifted over to the message the teacher had hung up, silently pointing out to how the callback was now also overlapping with the science club’s decathlon. 

“Can you tell Donghyuck I’ll join you when you see him? At least science means easy credit,” he simply stated and whereas he knew it was rude, this time around he didn’t wait for a reply as he turned around to leave school and enter his well deserved weekend. 

His hula hoop clattered to the floor when Renjun heard his name being called, carelessly left behind in the living room as he did about every evening during the time his brother had finished preparing dinner. He loved those times, sitting together around the table with Sicheng and Yuta and experiencing a resemblance of familial life. It wasn’t like he had never experienced it with his own parents but they’d rather talk about work and the company than about their sons’ day at school. A complete table turnt experience to currently when Yuta greeted him with a sunlight like bright smile and asked, “How was your day? I brought pizza for a change. Beef, pepper and onion for you?”

“Perfect,” the youngest replied with a smile but, quite deliberately, skipped over the previous question that was asked while settling down, eager hands already reaching for his pizza box to move the whole flat of dough onto his plate. It seemed to be enough to even lure Rapunzel out of her hiding place, little curly feet pawing at his thigh to ask for his food and, while Yuta was distracted by his own pizza, Renjun quickly dropped her a piece of meat. 

Politely enough, he waited until all three boxes were stacked at the end of the table and only then pulled out one of his slices to devour with gusto. It was entertaining enough to watch Yuta opposite him try to smooch Sicheng who acted as disgusted as a three year old, as if these two hadn’t been dating for over five years by now. By now, he had just gotten used to this being their thing but this time around he couldn’t help thinking of how Jaemin had more often than not acted in a similarly cheesy way as the older boyfriend did. Only to then ditch him without hesitation. 

Immediately his mood soured and his chewing became more aggressive and whereas the Japanese was still focused on drowning the dancer in his affection, the change didn’t go by unnoticed by the older brother who asked, “Renjun? Are you okay?”

“Hm?” Cheeks still full, the student focused on the older, and, for a moment, took in the worried gaze he disliked to see so much. Coming here had been supposed to make his life easier, not stress his older brother into being concerned about him. “No, no, it’s just…” He frowned lightly, he didn’t exactly want to bring up the Jaemin matter because, to say it with Yuta’s words, “water signs are really romantic signs!” and at least the oldest would misunderstand. So rather than addressing would really bothered him, he declared, “I joined the science club today. They probably really need to help or else they’ll pathetically lose in the tournament.”

“That’s great, Junko! Are the people in the club nice too? Do they treat you well? You’re not making bad experiences, are you?” Drowning in Yuta’s excitement and questions was easier and it also was a welcome distraction that had him smiling soon enough around his piece, even when it was filled with annoyance about just how loud both Donghyuck and Yangyang could actually be.

He should have seen it coming, though, in a literal and metaphorical way, should have known Sicheng wouldn’t give up just like that and he should have also paid more attention to the doorway when his brother showed up around a time Yuta would surely be asleep at already. Without asking the older entered the room and sat down in his desk chair and Renjun didn’t even complain because the obligatory “this is still my apartment” would follow for sure.

“Look, I’m not against you joining the science club,” the dancer started and from that alone the younger already knew his brother was against it, mostly because what had been being the nerd had been being the foreigner for Sicheng with his introverted character and shyness of talking a new language all over again. “But there’s something else you’re not telling me, right?”

With a sigh Renjun sat up in bed, grabbing one of the throw pillows to hug to his chest and eyes focused on the pattern of his blanket. “When did you first start making friends? It wasn’t easy when we were still moving around a lot but when you started to live in the dorms and all… How did you know they were friends for real?”

“I didn’t,” Sicheng answered honestly, leaning back in his chair in an entirely opposite way to the younger’s moving up and forth. “I think the first friend I made was Minghao and that, too, only because he was the only other Chinese in my year back then. We got insulated in this kind of capsule back then but he was roommates with Mingyu and one thing lead to another. It was weird, meeting people who understood me being shy about my accent and all but they made it easier for me. But it’s not always like that. One of my roommates also acted nice around me and then I overheard him trashing me behind my back. What is this really about, Renjun?”

“There’s this boy and…” He didn’t get farther because already did the older release an impressed and drawn out “oh!” sound. It was actually enough to have a pillow landing in his face but Renjun didn’t exactly feel guilty about that. “He wanted me to try for the drama club with him but… Today I overheard him talk about it like it didn’t matter to him so I just…”

“Feel betrayed and unable to explain it to yourself?” The older asked but the room’s owner only nodded in confirmation. “If it bothers you that much, you should ask him about it. Sometimes misunderstandings come up but whether you get surprised or hurt, it’s better to receive an answer from them rather than be alone with your thoughts.”

Those words felt appropriate, but also heavy to his chest, and regardless of all that, there was one thing bothering Renjun about all that was said: “Did you read one of Yuta’s books to look smart again?”

“Worked, didn’t it?” The older brother grinned happily while already getting up, making the chair squeak lightly with the movement. “But you should sleep now. Shall I get you Rapunzel to cuddle?”

“Isn’t she stealing your boyfriend at the moment?” The student shot back with a little grin but he settled beneath the cover regardless, cuddling into his blanket, and only waited for Sicheng to turn off the lights for him while giving his usual nightly greetings. It had not been an explanation as to what he felt but this little conversation had still been enough to make him fall asleep with ease.

  


･*:.｡. .｡.:*･

  
Naturally, the wise thing to do on a weekend would be to get started on homework, sort through notes and reading assignments, maybe start tidying up his room that was already too much of a mess for anyone to bear with than him. Well, mostly his uncle didn’t want to bear with it, having recited his usual “As long as you’re staying with me, you’re sticking to my rules and that includes…” and some more blah blah. 

The very Jeno-thing to do, though, was get his computer started and play PUBG for as long as he could before Yeeun would pester him to play some more Overwatch with her and get his records ruined further. On the bright side, they would play off season so that meant at least she couldn’t drag his rank too much. Twin connectivity most definitely stopped working as soon as gaming was involved, that, at least, was Jeno’s take on it.

Since he was playing on his own at the moment, he hadn’t even bothered plugging his headset in and instead stuck with his normal earphones. One of the buds was well kept within his ear, the other just dangling around his collar to not cut his ability to take in his surroundings down too much. Much to his advantage as he realized when a wild Ten appeared in his room, mind the Pokemon reference. Albeit that was more of Yeeun’s level of gaming than his.

His teacher appearing coincided well with his dying so he closed the game and rolled out from behind the table to be able to look better at the adult, one eyebrow raised in curiosity. Anyone would probably be more bewildered about their teacher just suddenly showing up in their room but in Yeeun’s and Jeno’s case it was all too normal, especially considering that Doyoung and Ten had attended college together to the point they had been roommates for a while.

Up to this day Jeno was not sure whether their uncle having to babysit them ever so often had been more to his delight about getting away from Ten’s snarky nature or his dismay about having “to clean up” after his sister all over again. That’s what one gets for not marrying rich themselves but having their sibling doing so!

“Congrats on your roles, I guess,” the educator said, crossed arms and leaning against the doorframe conveying more of a relaxed nature than actually possessed. The teen could see the tension in the way the older’s fingers dug into his arms or the nervous tapping of socked toes against the hardwood floor. 

“What makes you so sure we’ll get them?” The blond replied, a question he didn’t ask out of a lack of confidence but rather to rile his teacher up. He kind of guessed that Jaemin would back out after the callbacks were scheduled for collision with the playoffs. As much as he had been surprised for the sudden infatuation with singing, undoubtedly the younger’s focus would be on the ball, it was inevitable. There was no escaping family relations, because quite as much as he was chasing Doyoung’s success in musical, Jaemin was stuck in the court his uncle had drawn. 

“Johnny didn’t send me any angry text messages yet. And I heard from Taeil that his science club has a new member. Even I know what that means since those screaming airheads have been hanging around that fairy kid since days now.” The shrug Ten gave away made it seem so easy but Jeno had already noticed, it was all too obvious since the first word spoken had given it all away.

A snarky grin appeared on his face as he took in the teacher’s looks all over again, including the way too obvious outlines of a phone in his jeans. As much as Ten hated texting in class, the singer did ignore it when around Doyoung’s and it was just too cute how the answers to all question had been given all at once. “So Johnny’s been texting you, yeah?”

“Shut up, you brain bleached brat!” The Thai immediately shot back, followed by the pack of tissues placed on one of his shelves. 

Whilst Jeno was still distracted by the assault, the older had already sauntered out of the room but that, too, had never been enough to stop the teen. With a hurry to his steps his trainer would surely enjoy to see in gym too he took off and hurried after his teacher and towards the living room his uncle and sister were surely already residing in, yelling, “Johnny’s been texting Ten! And Ten-”

He didn’t get further since said man had just pushed him into the couch, effectively interrupting his yells and cutting them down with an easy, “Shall we order pizza and watch a movie then?”

“I’ve alr-”

“Yes!” Yeeun eagerly cut down Doyoung’s protest, much to their uncle’s anger. The murderous glint in his eyes was short-lived though when Yeeun added, “Can we also have tteokbokki and chicken? Pretty please?” And, that much Jeno had to admit, refusing her puppy eyes was quite hard even for him who had grown up with him. 

On the doubt of productivity, at least Sunday saw him hitting the gym again and making an effort to work the stress of the previous week out of his system. After all, there were only so many exercises he could do at home, when the most of an equipment he had was a sandsack and dumbbells to work with. Jeno felt only a bit regretful for not having made an appointment with a trainer when he left the area stuck with machines and entered the corner for weights, eyeing the benches with a bit of envy. Trying to bench press any weights would be a bad idea when he had no one to support the bar instead so he probably had to do without.

For the moment, he focused on pullups, jumping lightly to get his hands on the bar and lift himself up to level it. He didn’t exactly count the sets, prefered just pushing himself until the burn of his muscles was bordering on too much, but he didn’t miss a familiar frame entering the scene. 

The funny thing about his and Jaemin’s relationship was that they were somewhere between too little and too much, knowing things about each other they shouldn’t when they spent so little time with each other but the aftereffects of accumulated knowledge was still evident. So was knowing each other’s families, and whereas the basketball player had little to nothing in common with Jeno’s globetrotter parents, the singer shared a common hobby with the other’s dad. 

Said man was currently leaning against the frame of the pull up bars, eyeing the teen with his already trembling arms, and a smirk on his lips that was bordering the lines of amused and caring. “Hey, Jeno. Long time no see.”

“Hey… Jaehyun,” the blond more grunted than greeted, forcing himself through one more of the torturous movements before letting go and fluidly landing on the ground. His savior had come at just the right time, it seemed. “Need help with the weights?”

For a moment, the singer wondered whether Jaehyun hadn’t seen right through him but then the older just smirked and went over to one of the stations and checked the weights, exchanging the plates needed and then settled down on his back, hands on the bar whilst Jeno came to support it from above. “It’s convenient to have met you, though. The tension at home is stifling and John doesn’t want to tell me what it is about exactly but maybe you know?”

The testing gaze Jaehyun gave him made quite obvious that the parent was having his suspicions towards Jeno knowing about it, who still tried to play it off with a little shrug. “There’s… I’m not sure how much I’m supposed to tell but Jaemin auditioned for the spring musical some days back. I think the team didn’t take it well…”

“The spring musical? Isn’t that your thing? Jaemin always sounds so proud when talking about you and your roles, why would he start doing that now?” Jaehyun asked in return and just for a moment the teen felt the heat of embarrassment creep up his neck and override the warmth of exercising.

“I- I’m not sure but he partnered up with a boy so…” Honestly, Jeno tried to keep the acid out of his voice, he still didn’t understand why Jaemin had auditioned with Renjun of all people. He just didn’t get the relation. They had definitely met before but neither of them had mentioned anything and the singer also couldn’t just blatantly ask about it, that would be too much. “I don’t think he’ll do it, though. We were kind of in a draw with auditions and now the callbacks align with the playoffs so…”

“Guess that’s got John’s pants all twisted up,” the older of the two sighed out, the bar lifting once, twice more, and then Jaehyun asked to switch places. The weight was a bit more than Jeno usually took but right now the challenge seemed welcoming, so he simply moved into the warmed up spot and wrapped his fingers around the metal where it fit right. He was still struggling a bit with the weight when the father went on, “Was he good enough to even get you on a standoff?”

“Don’t know. Didn’t hear it,” the blond pressed out, trying to focus on his breathing for a bit but with one of the upcoming pushes, he explained, “They didn’t make the official audition times, I think. But I was told” - he had to take a break for a moment as he lowered and raised the bar again - “they’re really good. Great harmony. Wouldn’t your husband know better?”

“He never sang at home,” the brunet denied, paying more attention now that he could see the younger struggle a bit more against gravity than he had earlier. “And I don’t think Johnny would be too delighted about it now. I know he’s… sensitive about Jaemin’s future and even I’d rather avoid that kind of talk now.”

Lightly Jeno frowned at the mention of that. He was certain the school’s star player had mentioned that before, that the situation was a bit more complicated than was let on but pressing for answers didn’t feel right either, so he just shut it for the moment and finished his set. Once done, Jaehyun asked for assistance once again, seemingly more definite on the sets and repetitions than the teen was that day. 

For a while they were silent, only panting and huffing with the strain of exercise, and like that a few minutes passed but when the older put the bar back into its hold he suddenly spoke up, “So, that boy Jaemin auditioned with…” Whatever it was, something about Jeno’s expression must have told Jaehyun more than he wanted because in an instant, the father’s expression softened into an amused smile and he said, “Nevermind then. Let’s go on.”

The question of exactly why Jaehyun had put a halt to their conversation busied Jeno’s mind for only a little while longer. To be exact, until their competitiveness seemed to get the better of both of them and the challenge of who could run longer on the treadmill overrode their thinking abilities.

  


･*:.｡. .｡.:*･

  
Maybe there were better ways to handle stressful situations that running away but for some reason, instead of feeling at ease with his friends, currently he only felt tense surrounded by their jokes and pressured by Mark’s attempts at strategizing. So this, this was actually more relaxing, surely more cowardice but the idea of getting some refreshing air at the roof was most definitely more appealing than the thought of spending his free period in side and possibly get caught by his team and roped into yet another conversation. Yes, he was social and extroverted but even he wanted to take a break from time to time. 

All the more so when he saw one of the two most beautiful people he had ever seen in his life (yes, he sent a silent apology to his parents for thinking this), and cheerfully exclaimed, “Injunie! Apple of my eye, I’ve missed you all weekend long! It was so dull and- Baby, are you okay?”

Renjun was usually quite rough with him, truly, and it was part of the older’s sugarsweet charme but today there was none of it, only a dull ache that echoed even through Jaemin’s heart upon sight. The was the faintest blush across those pale cheeks upon the mention of a nickname but instead of a threat of choking, he could only watch how the smaller got up from his seat and declared, “I’ll take my leave now.”

“Injun? Why?” The athlete asked, a bit flabbergasted with the unexpectedness of the situation. Before he had realized, he had already stepped forth and wrapped his fingers around the other’s slender wrist. “Are you mad? Did I do anythi-”

“Not sure,” Renjun interrupted him with more force than was needed, trying to free himself with the more effort but Jaemin really didn’t want to have it. “I just didn’t think I was worth your time since I’m not important at all, right?”

“That’s…”

“Don’t,” the smaller cut in once again, “Don’t even try to come up with an excuse to something we both know you said.”

“Then let me explain! Just… that…” The urge to run was evident in the Chinese boy’s eyes, it was all Jaemin could do to cross his fingers in his thoughts and force himself to let go of Renjun’s hand, make this voluntary, not force it.

Apparently, this was the right thing to do because next thing he knew, he could hear the older grunt and observe how he threw his bag onto the bench and sat down. “Fine. Tell me.”

Feeling both relieved and wrought out like a table towel all at once, it took the younger a moment to catch up and settle down to. For maybe the first time since they started meeting on the roof, he prefered watching the yards and nearby houses rather than the boys next to him. “It probably doesn’t sound like much to you but… I like singing. Not because it’s fun but because doing it with you makes it worthwhile. Singing with you probably feels like flying, it’s easy and it comes naturally to me. Spending time with you makes it worth it. But that is not something I can tell my teammates.” He smiled softly, didn’t need to look to know he had gotten Renjun flustered already but rather than looking and catching on to it, he rested his arms on the wall and his chin on top, watching the skies that looked dull with an incoming storm.

“Before you ask, I don’t feel ashamed or anything. If I had, I would have never made you audition for that with me. Neither do I feel uncomfortable being seen with you or whatever other stereotypical thing there is to say. But… basketball is still one level higher than this. I’ve trained for years, I’ve spent more time with the team than perhaps even my family in the last months because we prepared a real lot. And that’s the thing…” He sighed, not daring to catch a glimpse of his bench neighbor. “I’m not proud of what I’ve said and I don’t think it was okay either but… it was the right thing to do, okay? If they- If Johnny knows I’m ready to ditch it all for a boy…”

The tension following his works seemed palpable, dozens of words he wasn’t supposed to say laying heavy on his tongue, a whole waterfall of stories ready to tumble out, things he didn’t want to say and things that needed to be said. Instead Jaemin swallowed them down, tried to erase it all with the charming smile he usually put on and that he hoped worked wonders now to charme Renjun all over again.  
“I’m not trying to pretend I understand,” the fairy boy said instead, expression stern and it made Jaemin queasy to his toes, “Because I never had a time like you. And I know you’re keeping something to yourself at the moment. So until you tell me what it is, I won’t forgive you. But I guess we can live under a peace treaty or something.”

Immediately Jaemin could feel his mood brighten as he looked at the older, unable to hide his eagerness behind working towards being in good favors again. “So you won’t swear me out? Won’t hate me or ignore me?”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, dumbass.” The smaller snorted but the mischievous glint in his eyes was still evident. “I’m not forgiving you. And you didn’t apologize properly either. But I guess since I’m no longer forced to sing in front of strangers I also feel a bit relieved…”

For another moment, the athlete just looked at him. Similarly to how there had been things he hadn’t said, it seemed there were also words stuck in Renjun’s mouth. Not that he was willing to look into a gift horse’s mouth so he only kept his smile alight and asked, “I sure hope treating you some snacks will suffice as an apology. I really feel hurt for having put you through any sort of pain, Injunie! I never meant to!”

  


･*:.｡. .｡.:*･

  
“So…” Donghyuck drawled out and already could feel Renjun a headache creep up on him. When he had agreed to join the science club and pull them out of their misery for the upcoming decathlon, he most definitely had forgotten just how darn annoying some of the members could be. To be exact, it were only Donghyuck and Yangyang who were annoying, Jisung seemed rather cute so far. “I’ve seen you and Jaemin being all chummy chummy again earlier. Care to tell me what this is about?” 

Plan A in this situation most definitely was to focus on the worksheet Mr Moon had handed them earlier, he’d much rather keep his eyes on the numbers of functional equations than having to think about what the golden boy had told him earlier. It hadn’t been exactly a satisfying talk so he couldn’t really understand why Donghyuck - of all people - was so excited about it. Things like teams and team spirit were hard for him to understand when he hadn’t really ever experienced such thing but if it was that important to Jaemin, he wanted to try to understand. At least he had received an apology for once.  
Plan B, according to his annoying clubmate, was trying to use physical force. Forcing and tickling, actually, but too bad for the younger that it was actually easy for Renjun to deal with that much. Growing up around an older brother and living with a very touchy older brother’s boyfriend kind of got him immune to that tactic so the most it resulted in was swatting bothersome hands away.

In all honors, all Renjun wanted to do was get through his work sheet, get it approved by their teacher and then leave already. Clubs were great on college resumés and all, he got that, but he had been living an isolated student life for so long now that these many interactions were exhausting to an extent. Was it so hard to just get one easy day of not having to explain himself to any of these annoying kids? (He said that with the utmost endearment though, because at home he’d probably just stutter about having made friends for the first time whilst dinner anyways.)

Plan C, he decided, started the moment the door was flung open and an overly excited Yangyang entered with a yell of, “Howdy, kids! How’s my favorite Korean boy and my favorite Chinese boy doing respectively?”

“You spent lunch with Guanheng,” Jisung interjected without even looking up and, silently and in his mind, Renjun thanked whoever and Mr Moon that they actually had one more normal person in the science club.

“Details,” Yangyang waved the youngest off with a smile and moved over to their table, backpack dropping to the ground with a sound that could’ve shaken the dead from their graves and that kind of added to the oldest’s psychosomatic headache. “So, what’s going? How’s it rolling? Are the bees and the birds-”

“Jaemin and Renjun are…” As the subsequent explanation, Donghyuck merely crossed two fingers to show just how tight the two aces respectively were, a movement that immediately set a certain spark alight in Yangyang’s eyes.

But before the younger fellow could even pick up the topic, Renjun pointed out, “Dare ask me about that and I’ll have you regret not having written your last will so far.” For heaven’s sake, how was anyone able to cope with these two? He had spent merely twenty minutes in the chemistry lab - including the time their teacher had handed out their assignments - and already did he regret about any decision that had led him here. Minus the getting to know Jaemin, that had actually been somewhat fun. Or a lot. Before the resemblance of heartbreak and all.

Wait- Heartbreak- His mind came to a screeching halt and for a moment he was certain his pencil might snap in half from the tension that seemed to entirely go past the same aged boys but not Jisung opposite him who asked, “Everything okay?” For another moment he just looked at the youngest, allowed the world to catch up on him and then, finally, he was out of his short blur.

“...-jun and Jaemin are da-” Just the snippet of a sentence was enough for Renjun to lurch forth and wrap his arm around Donghyuck’s neck, forcing the tan boy into a chokehold that must be anything but comfortable. At home that was normal to some degree, Sicheng teasing him and he’d use some violence but that this was not home and also not someone who knew him too well. Realization of that hit him a second too late, his tight grip loosening up a bit but rather than some leashing out, there was only the younger freeing himself and, while dramatically rubbing his neck, pointed out, “Man, you got a hold… Hey, wanna teach me that?”

“No,” Renjun answered sternly, giving his groupmate a curious glance. The reaction had been… unexpected. Would he have dared getting violent against any of his previous bullies, they’d likely have gotten more aggressive towards him so usually he kept his instincts under leash. Except Donghyuck was not a bully but rather a little pest he had to deal with.

Yangyang, next to Jisung, snorted softly at the sight. “So is that Jaemin’s ki- I’ll stop, I’ll stop!” As defensive manner, the globetrotter teen raised his arms like in any stereotypical action movie, amused grin still on his lips. “But in all seriousness, are you really dropping the audition? You could just do it on your own, too. I mean, Ten has never before asked for callbacks and all. It must mean something.”

Renjun easily decided to ignore the curiosity in the other’s eyes as he pushed back from the table, mathematics finished and reaching for the chemistry paper they were supposed to work on next. “I’m not going to do this alone. It was his idea so why should I do this alone?”

Whereas Jisung didn’t seem to care, Donghyuck seemed somewhat surprised at that fact. Yangyang, in turn, only wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, resembling any cheesy gif ever. “Still a bottom, I see.”  
“What’s a bottom?” Jisung finally asked, seemingly in the passing for he, too, didn’t look up from his paper properly until, “Renjun, can you explain this part to me? I don’t really get it.”

It was way easier to focus on the youngest with his question about equations than any of Dumb and Dumber’s nonsense, trying his best to explain how to come to a product. But over it all, he couldn’t help notice the honey-skinned boy still looking pensive in thoughts, something the oldest only regarded with a questioning look.

The younger dismissed it with a noncommittal hum only, taking another few seconds before he explained, “I just didn’t think he’d branch out. You surely know about the coach already but rumor has it his father is or was also involved with the basketball path. Never got anything clarified, though.”

Renjun couldn’t help frowning about that. If his father, too, was involved with it, why was Jaemin more worried about his uncle then? Was this somehow related to the things that had been left unsaid? In quite the literal sense, he shook those thoughts off and instead reached for his chemistry paper with some more force than needed. He was so not going to develop a crush on the school’s crush now. Definitely not.

  


･*:.｡. .｡.:*･

  
With the beginning of the new week, the official declaration of the callbacks being cancelled had been hung up on the bulletin as usual and along with Jeno’s drastically decreased stress level there was a sudden influx of congratulatory words on the hallways. It was not new but it was definitely something Yeeun and he’d rather joke about than take too serious. Disney channel and all other teen stereotypes be damned, much as Jaemin or Lucas might get off on the attention they got on court (a mixture of Ten’s and Yeeun’s words, not his), and whilst it was flattering to see the people watch his plays, it was really not as much to his liking as it must be to Jaemin’s to be at the constant point of focus. 

The latter had not yet wished him well, though, despite all their previous little habits of taking note of each other’s achievements and up to this point Jeno was not certain this was to be faulted on playoffs or missed chances. It was only too regrettable that the chance to hear their star player’s voice had so easily gone past him, he would have done anything to hear it when it was even on the level to force them into a callback. 

To be exact, there had been one more person he noted not to have wished him well, but then again, neither should he expect Renjun to congratulate him. After all, they weren’t exactly on even ground. But even less had he anticipated to see that same kid sitting on the stage, paint brush and some color in his hands respectively. In the corner, Elkie was playing a soft tune but that hardly mattered to Jeno at the moment, feeling too much like a bristly cat just having her territory invaded. 

Rather than focusing on either of those two - admittedly, the pianist didn’t deserve this kind of treatment - he turned to their teacher, seeing Ten in his usual front row seat and glaring at his phone like an idiot in love and angry madman all at once. Probably Johnny then. Despite his outstanding acting skills, he didn’t bother hiding his slightly upset mood since their club leader didn’t either, merely dropped his bag on the ground next to the adult and stated, “Yeeun won’t make it today. She had an appointment to attend this afternoon and if she cancels... “ He lightly shrugged. “Well, you know Doyoung.”

“We’ll have to do without her then. We can go through our updated schedule then and… Renjun, do you know only the song Elkie showed you or more of them?” Ten asked, loud enough to be heard easily but without bothering to look up in first place. Apparently the outdated flip planner and rough schedule of deadlines they had were more interesting. 

A short glimpse over showed a confused painting boy, the sight nearly adorable but Jeno was in no way interested in actually acknowledging such fact. “Sir… but I’m not planning on partaking in the musical without Jaemin this-”

The boy was interrupted with a few fast finger snaps that easily drew attention not only during class but even in an empty theatre hall. “Don’t. We discuss no ball heads within these sacred walls,” the Thai pointed out. It nearly made Jeno snort, after all, who had just awaited the coach’s texts mere moments ago? “I just need you to replace Yeeun for the day. A bit of a rehearsal for the main songs won’t do any bad and it might help Elkie out too.”

“Oh!” The mentioned girl looked over in interest, the blond could basically feel her eyes darting back and forth between him and Renjun and surely to her it must be an exhilarating event. She was good, no doubt there, but with a limited amount of students to work with there wasn’t much of a change of pace unlike now. Eventually, it had been for that reason as to why Jaemin landing a position in callbacks with a new kid had been so attention rousing. 

But before Jeno could indulge these thoughts any further, not to mention Renjun bring forth another round of protest, Ten had already signed him to sit down so he did. It was the only introduction to the most tiring hour to come, seemingly less fun without Yeeun’s little comments but that, after all, was what planning a musical entailed. Albeit he was certain the most of the reason as to why both he and his sister were usually pulled into the planning was not because of Doyoung having mentioned the kids needed some knowledge of internal workings of musical but rather because their educator was like a renitent cat - only following his own wishes and wants and better get the beauty sleep he thought to deserve. No wonder watching him with their uncle was like watching cat and dog. 

During a few moments Renjun was gone to wherever, and their scheduling was mostly done, only the rough assignment of roles missing, Jeno turned his head to look at the educator and asked, “Why’s he here?”

“Who?” Ten immediately asked, seemingly confused for a moment that entirely didn’t fit the usually snarky male. Seconds later, the blond nearly expected the teasing to come but there was only a dull, “Oh, Renjun… He actually did a good job last week so I asked him to help out on the backgrounds. He has fun, I have less work, I don’t see the problem. You?”

“No… No problem…” The singer lightly frowned due to the statement but it was easily forgotten when the Chinese returned and, not wanting to look bothered, he didn’t want to seem concerned. So he rather focused on the last things needing to be scheduled and then on the list of songs Elkie had written and prepared for them. Some of them were for other roles and little of his interest but a few of the transparent folders had tape stuck to them, the two couple’s names scribbled on top of them and whereas he knew his own already, the other two immediately turned into melodies in his mind. Melodies he tried to align with Jaemin’s or maybe even Renjun’s voices but speaking and singing was still so different…

He would have sighed in disappointment at this point were it not for Ten ripping the foil out of his hand and looking at the song title for a moment. A short whistle to draw Elkie’s attention and then, somehow, Jeno found himself behind her to be able to look at the sheets whilst the other copies were shared between Ten and Renjun. Much as he didn’t enjoy singing with a former rival, he couldn’t deny he also was a bit curious, intrigued by someone being able to beat him and his sister off their thrones and, truly, it was an experience.

Yeeun’s voice was smooth and clear but Renjun’s was yet on another level, elegant and mellow, softly melting into the melody with an ease that came from knowing the song and all that despite even paying attention properly, as Jeno realized when looking over and seeing his classmate still painting through it all. Now he could understand Ten’s decision, aggravating as it was, but despite the slight roughness that came from not having practiced vocals for long, there was a depth of possibilities within the other’s voice that had Goosebumps spreading down his arms. It simply was the kind of voice one had no way of forgetting any time soon, if not for the rest of their lives.

  


･*:.｡. .｡.:*･

  
The scent of honey and butter greeted Jaemin before he had even heard the steps approaching him in his room where he was still busy solving mathematical problems as part of his homework. Honestly, he just wanted to get this over with so he could relax a bit more before dinner, especially with how tired he was from the intense training in the afternoon but maybe the prospect of some snack was more to his liking. 

“Need help?” Jaehyun asked, a steaming bowl in his hand, and it should be suspicious enough that his dad made sure to close the door behind himself but with the prospect of snacks, especially the sweet kind, he couldn’t care about that at all. 

Immediately, the younger made grabby hands for the bowl that indeed held one of his favorites, sweet scent of rice cakes fried in butter and sprinkled with generous amounts of honey. “It’s just tiring,” he whined softly, while nearly yanking the chopsticks out of his dad’s hands to finally be able to dig into his pre-dinner. 

“The homework or training?” The older asked in return, laughter in his voice, and settled on the bed thanks to the lack of other sitting furniture that became apparent now. It was less so when Mark or Lucas or the whole team came over and they usually spent their time out in the yard playing basketball or barbecuing or smashing heads in computer games in the living room. 

Apparently, the student’s face had given it all away for the businessman was soon busy laughing for real. “Johnny’s really that mean, huh?” Despite being made fun of, to Jaemin it was a relaxing sound, it meant home and comfort so he didn’t actually mind. Neither was it like he could just get upset about his uncle in the same manner as he did with his friends, no matter how tiring the hours spent in gym after classes could be. “He was that way before too. But he doesn’t mean evil.”

“Dad,” the younger pointed out, speaking around a rice cake that was stuck halfway on the way into his mouth, “You’re talking as if I didn’t grow up with him. I know Johnny too, you know?”

“Touché,” the adult easily agreed, sweet dimples on display that had been mentioned as too adorable by an intoxicated Taeyong more than just once. That, in turn, usually meant a lot of making fun of to Johnny and Jaemin then. “Are you nervous because of tomorrow?”

This time it took the athlete some moments to answer, having to chew and swallow first because the last time he had dared speak with his mouth stuffed, he was quite certain his father had scowled at him even despite not having been around at the time it happened. These kind-of-motherly instincts were truly a curse of his life. “Cause of the playoffs? Ay, you know I can do this! I’m your son, after all!” Just for the effect of it, the blond sent a wink in his Jaehyun’s directions, action apparently so embarrassing it made his dad’s ears redden.

“You are indeed. And I’m really glad to have a son like you, too,” the other immediately praised, gentle and oh so fatherly smile on his lips it had Jaemin yearning to both swim in the attention and hide away from it to keep his sensitive heart safe. “But I actually also wanted to talk about something else with you too. I’ve met Jeno at the gym recently and he told me something interesting…” Lightly the student tilted his head aside in question because his dad running into the singer wasn’t that unusual, not when Jeno had heard about it from Jaehyun in first place, that now he was questioned was unusual though. “About a boy you seem to have your eyes on?”

“Okay,” Jaemin drawled out, quick to deflect by asking, “Was this how you felt when I asked about Taeyong being my mom?” 

It was enough to make his dad splutter for a second, not sufficient to cover his own embarrassment evident by the heat he felt in his cheeks. Only that Jaehyun was unfairly fast at regaining his composure by asking, “So it’s serious to the point you want to date him?”

“That’s- No- I-” With a distressed groan, the student swiveled around in his chair, turning to his desk rather than his bed because this was not the kind of talk he had been prepared for. Maybe the talk of flowers and bees might have been more entertaining than this, just that Johnny had already more than sufficiently explained this to him some several months ago. A memory he quickly brushed aside in favor of turning to his dad again, nervously biting his lower lip while phrasing the query, “So Jeno also told you about the audition and all?” Jaehyun merely nodded but it was all the teen needed as confirmation. “I don’t know… He’s just really pretty and cute, I guess?”

“Are you afraid of what Johnny or I will think if you start dating now?” 

Of all things, that question truly hit homerun, yet all Jaemin could do was nod his head shyly. He anticipated a lot of things when hearing his bed screech, the soft thud of steps against the floor, the weight of a hand on his head, fingers ruffling up his hair, was not one of them. 

“Oh, Jaemin…” His dad sighed heavily, enough strain in his voice that it had his son looking up. “You’re not me, you won’t make the same mistakes and Johnny will also get around if you start dating,” Jaehyun softly reassured and then, with a little joke, added, “Not like you can get that boy pregnant anyways.”

Questions weighed heavily on the teen’s tongue regardless, a bit of insecurity showing that was all too easily caught by the older who smiled, “If you really want to pursue love, I’ll support you, okay? Just don’t miss training again, John was actually livid!”

“I won’t,” Jaemin promised. A short talk but already did he feel so much lighter, as if a weight had been taken off his shoulders, one he had felt ever since he had met Renjun again in school. It didn’t solve all his problems, but it was a start. “I was thinking of inviting him to the game?” He wasn’t exactly sure why it came out as a question, but seeing his dad’s encouraging smile was all the solace he needed.  
Already was he reaching for the next rice cake in his bowl, noting from the corner of his eyes how Jaehyun got ready to leave, likely to go prepare dinner now that Taeyong was busy again, when another thing came to his mind. “Dad,” he called out, turning around and towards the door to be able to look at the brunet with querying eyes, “What do I do if I can’t choose between two people…?”

“Jeno?” The adult asked, as if it was all that easy to read Jaemin and, well, to his dad it probably was. After all, there were only two people who had spent all of his life with him. “It’s not something I’ve gone through myself so I’m not sure I can tell you what to do exactly but maybe you should ask yourself whether being able to feel so much isn’t actually a gift?” The smile on Jaehyun’s face was gentle, looking at the confused student and it really was a difficult question but in a patchwork family like theirs, there was no room for judgement in first place. “Don’t think about it too much for now. Do your homework, eat dinner, go to sleep and invite that boy of yours tomorrow. Alright, pancake?”

“Alright, cupcake,” Jaemin teased. It really was a question he had some more time to ponder about but for now, sending his dad off with laughter, definitely felt more relieving than the idea of having to overthink this, too. Telling Johnny about his crush sooner than later might be terrifying enough.

  


･*:.｡. .｡.:*･

  
Lunch was, to put it simple, overwhelming, and it was just another day Renjun would have prefered spending it in the library rather than the cafeteria. Except he seemed to be quite weak towards Jisung’s pleading eyes and the younger had asked for help with homework before it had to be turned in in the afternoon. Not something he quite enjoyed, especially not with the increased excitement of the game later that day and the cheerful buzz around them, but now he couldn’t help it. At least the younger had so proudly presented a bag of jelly and a lollipop to him, the latter he was currently twirling around in his mouth while looking over the equations scribbled down. 

Here and there were some slips that lead to a miscalculation but nothing too drastic. Actually, apart from these mistakes caused either by doing it all in a hurry or when not focused, there didn’t seem to be any bigger faults so Renjun didn’t entirely get why he had to do this. The noises made it harder for him to focus, especially with the two blabbermouths sharing the table with them but somehow he had grown surprisingly used to the fact that Yangyang and Donghyuck were more social than were good for the new student.

He had barely managed to get through most of the second to last exercise when the clatter around them seemed to get even louder. It was aggravating to the point he heard his lollipop cracking between his teeth before he realized, the candy shattering into pieces and he nearly spat them out when a hand was placed on his shoulder. Jumpy by nature, that too had him screeching in surprise and jumping in his chair, ready to haul Jisung’s homework at the person behind him when instead he was trapped in an uncomfortable back hug that smelled a bit too much like cotton and freshly washed sheets for comfort. (Effectively, it had him more comfortable than he’d like to admit…)

“Jesus, Jaemin,” he growled at the boy behind him and, albeit the homework was spared, he didn’t hold himself back from elbowing the younger regardless. “You can’t just startle me like this!”

“But I love when you get all cute and pouty,” the athlete cooed and, yeah, definitely, that was enough for Renjun to lose it. Or he would have, if he could actually manage to get out of that deadlock of an embrace. In his mind he was already cursing stupid basketball aces with their stupidly trained arms. All the wiggling, though, seemed to motivate the team captain to speak up a bit quicker and with way more proximity to his ear than Renjun would like, considering how easily it drove a blush up his cheeks, “I’d enjoy it even more if you’d cheer me on today. Are you going to watch? I’ll save you a spot.”

If he had to be honest, he would outright decline. Sports were boring and there were definitely better things to do than watch ten or some boys dumbly run after the same ball (it probably was still an improvement to soccer, though…), like watching Buzzfeed Unsolved or X-Files or some documentary on crop circles. Just that the words died on his tongue with another whiff of Jaemin’s scent and the mischievous glimpses his three tablemates shot him, making him feel smaller than he wanted to. “I’ll consider it…” Which, in Renjun terms, was as good as saying yes and the younger must have caught on to that for the satisfaction rolling off was basically palpable. 

“Perfect! I’ll make it first row for you!” The blond cheered and then, without allowing the Chinese to catch a look of him, was already skipping over to his own table.

Only then did Renjun notice just how quiet it had gotten all around them, too many people apparently interested in what their golden boy might have wanted from him but he didn’t want to care. The still open notebook of homework was a welcome excuse for him to focus on, lowering his head to hopefully hide his blush as his lead pencil darted over the same exercise he had already mostly checked and start anew. Anything was better than having to deal with any of their questions and the explanations he couldn’t give right now. 

And he still didn’t want to deal with them hours later when their last class of the week was with Ten and he still had to pass two and a half hours afterwards before the game would start. The most perfect outcome would have been to hide away in the library until Mr Qian had him kicked out or leeching some lab hours off Mr Moon.

Instead, for some ominous reason he still couldn’t fathom (Renjun was slowly working on his theory of Ten being an alien because there was no logical explanation as to how a man like him could be a teacher and not yet have been kicked out) he had been successfully dragged into the theatre and spent his previous nearly three hours there. Singing with Lee Jeno, nonetheless. Admittedly, that only made up about half the time he had been there, because the remainder of it had been about reading through each and every scene with the whole cast, something that was slowly grinding down his nerves and patience alike.

He hadn’t even signed up for this! So what if he had planned to audition with Jaemin - which he still blamed on, well, Jaemin - because they had never gone through with it, and neither was his helping with the sets any kind of enlistment for this. Officially, he was still part of the science club with poor results. Which meant that by no means he was justified to sit here, reading through a script that wasn’t even his but supposed to be Yeeun’s, sing his heart out to songs that were mostly co-ed with Jeno, and disregard some sort of promise he had already given.

With one ear he was still listening to the other people on stage read through their sentences while simultaneously flipping forth in the script to figure out when would be his last line. There were too many of those and it was getting on his nerves when he had to keep track of the time too. With a few minutes left before the full hour, it meant half of the halftime break had already passed, and it was driving him crazy. 

Whilst he knew little of sports and basketball, he was quite efficient in making use of the internet to figure that if he didn’t show up soon, he’d risk having beef with Jaemin and dreams Renjun was not sure were ambiguous or ambitious. With that in the back of his mind, he flipped through the papers once again. Three pages left, which meant an average of fifteen minutes without a break and missing another quarter. But there were no more songs left he would have to go through with Jeno so he made his decision on impulse and in the few seconds Ten was distracted due to another set of wannabe actors.

Robbing across the stage to get closer to Elkie was a sacrifice he was willing to take, and in hurried Chinese he muttered, “Take over for me, okay? I need to be somewhere since half an hour! I’ll treat you to hot pot later!” And then, before he could be caught by their teacher, he left his backpack and jacket as a sacrifice in favor of running out of the hall and down the meadows, skipping steps and skidding around corners, just so he could arrive in the gym before the next quarter would begin.

In all honesty, he barely so made it, and he was out of breath to the point his dancing brother would be disappointed of him (silently he prayed neither Sicheng nor Yuta would ever know of his horrible stamina, lest he gets dragged out for morning runs - again!) but none of that seemed important when he breached the doors and drew some few people’s attention. One of them was, either to his good or bad luck, Jaemin who broke into a bright smile that looked a bit dumb and also pointed vaguely at one of the chairs in, indeed, the first row. Next to some dainty looking adult with sky blue hair on one side and some unknown girl who looked like a girlfriend, on the only chair remaining empty was a little sticky note that easily read “Jaeminie’s cutie ~” with some kissy face drawn behind it. 

In an act of defiance he balled the paper into his hand but, likely to the ace’s future satisfaction, he didn’t immediately dumb it but rather pocketed it before falling into the seat. He was still way out of breath and had no idea of the rules, he had run out on one of his teachers who seemed not the least likely to overlook it, and all with the high possibility of having given Jaemin hope for… well, for what actually? Dear, feelings were confusing, and now he knew why he didn’t like them at all. 

“Don’t worry, I’ve been watching him play since over ten years and I still don’t get the game,” the man next to him suddenly spoke up, an embarrassed giggle to his words but to an extent Renjun could understand. Even if Jaemin ended up inviting him to another game, he doubted he’d understand the rules any time soon. “Ah, you probably don’t know who I am, do you? I just saw Jaemin’s name on the note so I assumed.”

Seeing someone else embarrassed was, at least, a little boost to his own confidence despite the question marks tumbling his mind thanks to the question just who this person was exactly. Since the age seemed to be close to the coach’s, his likeliest suspicion was it was either of the player’s fathers but he didn’t actually want to jump to conclusions. “Renjun,” he instead only said, holding his hand out shyly. Was he supposed to add more? Explain himself and his position? But that would require him to actually know where he stood with the team captain…

“Oh, Jaehyunnie mentioned your name! The cute boy Jaemin sang with, right?” Now the stranger sounded a tad too excited and it nearly had Renjun’s head spinning with the sudden knowledge-based bombs thrown at him. Not to mention it was confusing, because either due to delusional knowledge of their relationship or his stumbling thoughts he could see a certain resemblance between the adult next to him and the teenager on the court. Although the two names mentioned were definitely more alike. All thought was taken from him when his hand was finally taken for a handshake. “Right, sorry, I’m Taeyong. I’m Jaemin’s father,” the blue haired continued in the same joy and then added, “But not the father, in case you wondered.”

He had indeed wondered but no way would Renjun point that out, he only smiled wryly and then tried to turn his attention back to the game as subtly as possible. For someone who had only wanted to lead a silent life as he was used to, within the last two weeks his had turned out to be quite tumultuous. Which he couldn’t even mind when, after having scored some points, Jaemin turned his way and gave such a bright smile it was the only thing Renjun could think about the next few moments. Because he wanted to slap it off that dumb face. Definitely.

  


･*:.｡. .｡.:*･

  
The noises of the gym were loud enough to even reach outside, the cheers, the yells, and by the delighted screams of their own team’s name, it was easy to guess who had won for Jeno who hadn’t even attended it. No, because unlike Renjun he hadn’t just run out of rehearsal and as upset as he wanted to be about that, he wasn’t actually able to. After all, the older had been invited to the game by Jaemin himself and no one would possibly risk those betrayed puppy eyes afterwards for not showing up. 

Then again, before Renjun no one had been invited by their star player for a long time, maybe he himself had even be the last to be rewarded like this. Except that the last time he had received an invitation had been maybe in their middle school years and even then he hadn’t managed to attend more than one in all these years. 

For himself, it was all too evident that he was envious of the new student to be asked that question rather than him and he was also admiring the ability to just ditch it all to go and attend. It was different to both him and Jaemin who had just pursued their own things without ever really looking out for the other. Neither of them had had the bravery to just ditch their interests for someone else’s sake with the same daring front of an underdog.

Then again, their ambitions had been different. The both of them were dedicated to their roles, pursue dreams they had chosen years ago whereas, to the singer at least, Renjun was like a blank canvas with too many colors lain out next to it. There were so many possibilities, there was art and there was sciences, there was singing, and who knew what else might come up in the future. Unlike Jeno, the Chinese boy hadn’t chosen to be part of the ensemble, had merely been dragged there by Ten after class and whilst the blond was somewhat relieved to have someone to practice with, even just for a day, he couldn’t deny it was a bit unfair. Much as it was bothering him, he probably would need to explain all of this to the victim of the teacher’s actions, and handing back the forgotten belongings had seemed like a nice choice to do so.

Only that he nearly regretted it when the doors opened and the first viewers trickled out into the yard, students from the other school that were followed by a mere handful of parents, then their own cheerful bunch and, in the middle of them all, he caught sight of familiar blue hair. As familiar as some online posts could be but Jeno had never actually questioned his following Taeyong, not since they knew each other and Taeyong was actually known to the public. In the end, it was not too different to following a celebrity or a public person one liked, minus the being followed back and receiving some cheerful comments every once in a decade or something.

The same cheerful personality now greeted him over a distance of several feet and Jeno could easily figure it was one of those days. He knew not only from Jaemin from years ago but also from Jaehyun during workout chatter that Taeyong was only this or that, went from absolutely hyper to worn out sometimes within seconds, albeit it must have gotten better of the years since the complaints decreased.

“Jeno, kitty boy, it’s been so long since I’ve last seen you,” the older greeted with the ease of a long since known family member and the hug he received right after was accepted with open arms too.  
“You’ve outgrown me now, didn’t you? Jaehyunnie said you look more like him by now but I couldn’t believe my eyes until now.” The pout that accompanied these words did little more than make the teen smile with its endearing trait. “All you youth are leaving me behind! Another five years and I’ll already look like an old hag next to you.”

“You haven’t lost a bit of your charme and looks over the years,” Jeno was quick to reassure with a soft smile while settling once again on the stone wall of the raised bed he had been leaning against before too, double the backpacks at his feet that seemed to be so easily ignored by Taeyong at the moment. “Did you watch the game too?”

The adult hummed in agreement first, easily jumping up the slight difference to be able to sit on the raised wall too, heels bumping against the rough material. “Jaehyunnie asked me to. He wanted to watch himself but work… Leading an adult life is hard, you know? So enjoy your youth while you still can, hm?” The soft bump of Taeyong’s shoulder against his hardly fazed Jeno but it was a reassuring gesture nonetheless.

For another few moments they just had some smalltalk, about his musical achievements and the producer’s recent songs, so that they hardly noticed when the noises around them died down already. Only when the acoustic level rose once again with Lucas’ loud cheer and yells of triumph did Jeno look over to see Renjun walking next to Jaemin. Their height difference was adorable, and despite the athlete’s lean build, the Chinese undoubtedly looked more fragile next to the younger. A little pang echoed through Jeno’s heart, one he couldn’t exactly filter through.

“Pa!” Jaemin already yelled, seemingly yet oblivious to the singer’s attendance but Jeno didn’t blame him, not with the buzz of a just won game still lingering. “Renjun forgot his backpack so- Oh, Jeno! You’re here?”

“Congrats, Jae,” the addressed easily answered with a smile and jumped off the wall already, reaching down to pick up his things and Renjun’s right along with them. “I actually just wanted to hand them over and talk about something with Renjun so...”

His two seconds of hesitation were easily taken advantage of by Taeyong next to him, whose gentle hand weighed heavy on the blond’s shoulder already. “Talk in the car, will you? You both can come with us and celebrate. I’m sure Jaehyun won’t mind to stuff two more mouths and he’ll be happy to see and meet you two too!” And with an assertiveness only parents possessed, Jeno already found him shoved over to the car and into the backseat along with Renjun in the middle and Mark on the other end. At least Jaemin had been smart enough to call for shotgun.

To say the least, it was awkward, sitting next to someone he had most definitely not on good terms with but if Ten wanted to go through with his plans - and that headstrong teacher definitely would - then there was no other choice than try to make peace. Shortly he glimpsed past Renjun but Mark seemed to be focused on his phone and Jaemin was talking to Taeyong about dinner in the front so now was likely his best shot. “Renjun,” he started carefully, wanting to draw the other’s attention but he only received a little hum. “I- This-”

Yeeun had once told him he was an expert in making things awkward and, at the moment, he couldn’t deny that much, it was graspable even to him. So he quickly shook it off and tried again, “Listen, because of what Ten did earlier - sorry about just catching you off guard. Yeeun has a problem with her throat and she’ll be out of it for some weeks and Ten just suddenly kidnapped you without explaining anything so…”

“So you want to do that now?” The smaller boy asked defiantly, arms crossed in front of his chest as he fell back into his squeezed tight seat. “Fine, thank you for bringing me the backpack and sorry for ditching. But this is not-”

“I know,” Jeno cut him off, in all his seriousness although he didn’t mean it in a bad way. “You’re not part of the drama club so you had every right to ditch us, especially since you had plans. I won’t hold it against you. But before you think we’re all Ten, can you at least consider helping us out?”

The question seemed to have gotten the older by surprise and, frankly, the confused look was also close to adorable in the singer’s opinion, except he didn’t say it out loud. Not when it seemed risky to say for too many reasons. Still, he was quick to add, “Only for a while! Just like today, you won’t need to act much or learn the script, just help us with the reading maybe and sing with us and…” And what? Actually, Jeno was not sure what else to add to that list but he felt kind of exposed without Yeeun to keep him company during practice when they were already so used to each other.

So he counted it as a small victory when, rather than turning him down immediately, Renjun offered, “I’ll think about it… But I won’t make any promises. Donghyuck won’t let me live if I neglect his club.” That much, at least, was true, and Jeno himself new. Quite as much as the science club head had meant to ditch any additional work by founding his own business, it had backfired in the way their headmaster expected competitive results too and Donghyuck really just was not putting the effort he possibly could.

“Peace treaty?” The blond finally offered by holding his hand out, much as he could within the close space of the car. His only little hope was on Renjun accepting the gesture before they’d arrive at Jaemin’s place because if not, both of the team’s players might be more attentive towards them again and that was some sort of embarrassment he wanted to spare himself. 

Or maybe that too was already more than he should ask for because by the time the smaller had taken his hand and mutter and agreeing “Peace treaty…” in return, Jeno had caught sight of Jaemin in the rearview mirror, a knowing look in his eyes that drove the heat up the singer’s cheek. It was really not fair for Jaemin to still have this sort of effect on him...

  


･*:.｡. .｡.:*･

  
“Damn, you’re whipped, man,” a sudden Mark said after appearing out of seemingly thin air. Only that his neighbor had actually come out from the kitchen to join them in the garden again, where Jaemin was standing on the veranda and helping his dad out with the grill for the moment whilst Lucas, Hendery & Co. were yelling and laughing on the J’s mini court. He might be the captain but Jaemin still couldn’t understand just how they managed to play after one whole competitive game… At least they made Johnny happy. 

“No idea what you’re talking about.” The blond tried to shrug it off nonchalantly despite the funny looks he received from both sides. Could he still damn the day Mark and Jaehyun decided to team up for their morning runs and about everything else? The good thing was to know his dad had basically left him to decide what to do with his love life but considering how unconventional he was currently thinking, he wasn’t exactly certain everyone might be as supportive nor understanding.

Entirely ignoring his words, his neighbor moved to sit on the railing, bottle of cola in his hands in the same way his uncle would usually hold a can of beer, and asked, “So? Who of the two is cuter? Impressive and unreachable Jeno you keep sending longing gazes to for years or dainty but dangerous Renjun who swept the floor with your whipped ass?”

Which, honestly, was not a question he wanted to answer so Jaemin just acted as if he hadn’t heard the question over the not nearly loud enough sizzling of the meat on the grill. If it was merely about cuteness, both had something going for them - Renjun with his fairy figure and easily flustered personality versus Jeno and his puppy like traits… But it was not only about that and the way Jaehyun handed him more meat to grill gave him an easy way out to having to answer immediately. 

Still, he couldn’t help glimpsing over to where the two in question were sat regardless. Whatever had transpired in the car earlier - and he hadn’t seen more than their little agreement - had been cause for some sort of turning point, for currently Jeno and Renjun were having the kind of peaceful conversation he had not anticipated. Minus the one time the Chinese had threatened to slap the blond with one raised arm and hand thanks to whatever had been said. The mere fact it hadn’t escalated spoke for them, though.

“Jae,” Mark, heavens forbid, nearly whined, not doing well with the whole getting ignored and having his questions not answered part albeit that quickly was forgotten once he was fed a piece of meat plated on sesame leaf by the houseowner. 

“Mark,” Jaehyun gently prodded, leaning against the railing next to their neighbor for a moment of a break, as Jaemin noted from a short look over his shoulder, “If I asked you right now whether you like Johnny or me more, would you be able to answer?”

“Yo! Jaemin, Mark! How’s the meat going?” An overly excited Lucas called from the court and their little match of bullfighting, easily overriding the conversation that was taking place immediately behind the team’s captain. It would be more dramatic had Mark actually said something but it didn’t mean Jaemin wasn’t above threatening their tallest member with not getting any food at all.

Just in time for his dad to skip over Mark’s nonverbal reply and add with a smile, “Exactly! So don’t make him choose when you, too, have troubles deciding between people. Now go and get some plates or we can’t serve anything!”

The prospect of food was enough to get the older moving, leaving his cola behind to scramble into the house and get the cheap plastic plates they kept around for that reason exactly. With the little time it bought Jaemin to be alone with his dad, he turned around a bit to mouth a “Thank you” into Jaehyun’s direction before he made to cut the bigger stripes of meat into pieces so they’d not only cook faster but also were easier to share among them all. 

If someone had told him before, becoming the basketball team’s captain mostly entailed having to feed a bunch of hungry kids, Jaemin would have denied that fact. Albeit he assumed that was partly faulted to actually living with the coach as well. Nonetheless, saving quite the serving from their eager chopsticks and fingers had been a feat of itself, chopped pieces piled high on a plate he had silently put down in front of Jeno and Renjun who, by some sort of miracle, had not yet murdered each other. Generally the ambience around them seemed to be more peaceful and, in return, Jaemin was not quite certain that wasn’t more intimidating.

“I guess I can skip dessert with these eyecandies in front of me,” he said with a wink as he, too, settled down at the small table, holding out each a set of chopsticks to them so they’d not need to dirty their fingers. It also enabled him to watch their reactions, the sweet blush that crept up Jeno’s neck and the menacing glare from Renjun that did nothing to cover the ruddy cheeks. Truly, was there anyone sweeter than these two? Excluding old lady Ruby, of course. (Speaking of their dog, since neither her nor his father were around, they had probably already retreated for the night. Or gone to the studio and that, thankfully, saved him some parental pda.)

“Please do us all a favor and choke on some meat,” the oldest pointed out, all while holding out a piece of such and if that wasn’t the most endearing gesture ever then Jaemin also wouldn’t know.

He took the time to chew on it, paying extra attention to not choking on it, mind you, and used it well to take in both boys’ current state. No signs of stress, only some of fatigue, but it didn’t explain several of the earlier happenings. So, in classic he manner, he pushed out his lower lip into a slight pout and asked, “Not that I’m not delighted to see you having made peace now but exactly what did I miss?”

Perhaps it was the right question to ask, for he was quickly greeted by Jeno’s charming curvy eyes and a proud expression that entirely contrasted the first following words, “Yeeun got sick. She got vocal node so Renjun joined the drama club in her stead.”

“That’s not- I wouldn’t join without Jaemin,” the mentioned was quick to retort, meat getting chewed with more malice than the poor thing deserved but the youngest of the three took it as success there had not been any violent gestures involved just yet. “Just… Ten forced me to join the rehearsal. But I already said I won’t do any proper stages. And the science club has priority.”

“Then what about me?” The sports ace couldn’t help asking, smile bright despite the quiver of his heart. Was it already a sign of endearment Renjun had admitted to not wanting to join without him? Was it actually because of him or just loyalty towards their mutual decision? Were they even on good enough terms? Because despite all his relentless flirting, he was still getting elbowed for that and the Chinese boy was most definitely harder to read than Jeno who wore all his feelings on his sleeves if only you knew what to look for. 

(There was no reply from Renjun himself but a passing by Lucas added an “Elkie said he literally dashed out of practice before” which cued the small fairy to shoot out of his seat and set out to choke the giant. David versus Goliath and the small one won. All the compressed force in such lithe being, Jaemin was endeared.)

In the time the new student was still gone, comfortable silence settled between the two longtime friends, the kind that was never pressing or stressing. It was just… them. For two boys who both used their voices a lot for their representative hobbies, they sure could do well with serenity as well so Jaemin didn’t exactly anticipate Jeno to speak up again. “I guess he’s not that bad after all… I kind of can see why you like him.”

He should get jealous, at least that was what common sense told Jaemin. Instead, there was only warmth spreading throughout his chest and butterflies going in circles replacing his guts. Such moment could only have turned out as even more joyous if Jeno didn’t look torn by these words, maybe struggling with the thoughts the athlete had already managed to settle after talking to his dad that one evening. A teasing smile immediately tore apart his own face as he pointed out, “For someone so smart you can really be dumb, Jen.”

“Eh?” The trademark confused expression was adorable, and surely the singer didn’t know what to make of these feelings but rather than explaining, Jaemin made to prepare some little wrap and feed it to the older just in time for Renjun to return with Lucas in an uncomfortable chokehold saying, “Ew, I’m not third-wheeling your shit. Xuxi, can you-”

“When did you even get close to Lucas?” Jaemin whined simultaneously as he made grabby hands for the smaller and, ignorant to his own displeased expression, the latter sat down in his previous spot again, the giant freed of his hold and ready to go back to likely whine to Mark about domestic mistreatment and what else.

The oldest only shrugged it off and reached for some more meat, actions carried with an ease that did not betray any of the aforementioned confessions nor topics. It was just a relaxed little celebration, a cozy dinner surrounded by family and friends, and for the moment Jaemin was content with that. Albeit he had to ignore some prying gazes thrown their way, that was something he could deal later with too.

  


･*:.｡. .｡.:*･

  
After their cancellation on the callbacks - albeit his semi-acceptance to the drama club - Renjun had made it a habit of spending the free periods previously spent on singing practice inside the library instead. The increasing times of having been spent there also meant he had worked his way through the limited books on space and aliens at a terrifyingly quick pace and, unwanting of indulging the masterworks of Shakespeare just yet, had retreated to drawing instead. At least that was a nice change to having to swing his paintbrush around on Ten’s request, the teacher sure making him feel like an insect trapped in a spider’s net by now. He was truly a victim of capitalism but in that case it only meant Ten abusing his talents without any actual proper payment. Actually, it didn’t seem that fair to begin with. 

Regardless, and since that was off-topic, when Jisung dropped some notebook in front of him, his first instinct was to turn his head to figure whether or not Donghyuck and Yangyang had followed up on a journey of gossip or science questions again. As much as these two had wormed their ways inside his heart, they could be all too insufferable after all. And loud. Unbearably loud and even without a headache it was nothing Renjun wanted to undergo on a Monday morning.

“Don’t frat, I’m alone,” the younger, though, was quick to reassure him and, despite having so obviously placed his books down, made no efforts to open them up. Instead the Chinese was faced by small yet curious eyes and a teasing smile. “So you got all cozy with Jeno and Jaemin recently?”

Question marks only filled the new student’s head at that question. Was it even so much of a question when it sounded like a statement? Not that it was untrue, surprisingly, Friday evening had been quite fun and Jaemin’s dads from the game even had offered driving them home, even Sicheng and, by extension, Yuta had been quite proud of him coming late because at least had included social activities for once but the thing was, Friday evenings gave way to the weekend. Which meant the spreading of rumors was limited without the whole mouth-to-mouth thing so how had Jisung found out so quickly? 

Unknowingly, he must have asked the question loudly for the lower grade student immediately perked up and chattered, “Oh! So I heard from Chenle who’s also close to Jeno because of theatre but actually he heard from Xiao Jun who heard from Hendery but despite being part of the basketball team too, Hendery actually only noticed because Lucas told him about you three flirting.”

Maybe he should have anticipated this much after all. The explanation had made his head spin, yes, but then on the other hand, he had forgotten just how close-knit the Chinese students in this school were with each other. (See, exhibit 1 - Elkie had reported to Lucas about Renjun running off during rehearsal. See, exhibit 2 - Elkie had also messaged him the day after asking his current state of affairs after having been reported to by Lucas.)

“So does the whole school already know about this or only you?” Renjun decided to deflect, not wanting to get roped into a similar conversation as the one of two days ago. Without wanting to judge based on gender rules but the Hong Kong borne had definitely chosen a more subtle approach to question him about her “progress” with these two boys in question. Not that it had even been the right choice of words, there was no progress to be made when a) one was a general flirt, b) one he had not gotten along well with until that evening, and c) he was not even interested. The last, to an extent, was a lie but after not yet having made any bad experiences with other students within this new school, he really didn’t want to blow his chances at even just making friends. 

So what if Jaemin was a relentless flirt, the amount of attention Renjun received both had its up and downs. Up was how, regardless of his own reactions, it always lifted his mood, brightened his days and he bathed in the attention he received. Down was most definitely how weak it made him towards the younger, which was funny, because his club members, too, paid him lots of attention but none of those had made his heart flutter. Worse with Jeno, after a rough start, the short and maybe a bit stilted chatter they had had while surrounded by dumb ball jocks had eased over previous rough patches now. So there at least was progress, just not the kind Elkie had been hinting at.

The abnormally tall for his age boy still looked pensive about the question that had been asked but the older didn’t actually mind. Shall Jisung get hung up over the question of gossipy evolutions, at least that meant some less time of getting questioned himself.

“I don’t think the basketball team is that interested in spreading rumors despite all their chattering. And Jeno has always been like a closed book to most of us so…” It was a lot more of a serious answer than Renjun had originally anticipated, finding himself surprised by the dedication of the younger put into each and every question and problem. Still, it gave him the answer he had been asking for, reassuring him that Jeno’s and his attending a team only event might be kept secret for a bit of a longer time. Until Chenle decided to talk about it, at least, because that kid was loud and such decision had been made within, like, zero point two seconds. 

“What’s it matter even? It’s not that big of a deal in first place.” Again, the Chinese looked at the drawing he had been starting earlier, an attempt of hyperrealism projected onto a basketball. It looked lacking when only done in black-and-white with how he had not carried any color pencils with himself for the day. It was, and he knew all too well. Jocks were always a tad too favored by the general public and Jaemin, to top it off, was handsome. Same could be said in a way about Jeno, known for his looks and, to put it bluntly, his money. Getting either of them caught red-handed would be a shock to the whole of the school’s populization but having both of them caught in the same rumor at once? Red sirens rang loudly within his ears.

“Oh, but I’ve heard from- Guess that doesn’t matter actually but, really, it was like an unwritten law that if any of them ever ended up in a relationship, it would be with each other. Having you catch Jaemin’s attention was already like whoom! But even Jeno? Renjun, really, you are amazing.”

His lead snapped against the paper but the older pretended it had been accidental. The way Jisung put it, it sounded like he’d receive a whole lots of attention and that, honestly, was not something he wanted to deal with. A wry smile appeared on his lips as he looked at his drawing, it might as well have been an expression meant for his drawing and bless the younger’s naive innocence for not questioning it. “I see then. Should better not let the rumors spread too far, should we?”

“But Renjun,” the younger sounded surprised, pure eyes blinking in confusion, “if you have feelings for them for either of them, would it really be fair to repress them because of rumors alone? Your heart is not made of what people say about you but by what you feel on your own.”

The Chinese wanted to protest, wanted to point out how it was not right to speak of feelings in that context because he didn’t have any towards either of the two in question. Just that the words never left his mouth and his thoughts only left a bitter aftertaste on his tongue. He really wished he had the confidence of the younger, blindly trusting and stepping forward in life without any hindrance when it was not so simple in reality. People had targeted him for less than stealing their favorite eyecandy for them and even that term sat unwell within his mind, echo of Jaemin’s voice resounding in his mind when calling Jeno and him that way.

Didn’t Jaemin indeed have feelings for Jeno? Or was that just an act? Renjun didn’t know, and he didn’t want to wonder about it. It was why he liked the topic of space and aliens way more, it was unrealistic, it was out of his reach. It was something he could spend hours thinking about without ever having to be afraid of it affecting his life in any way. It was perfect.

It was also a nice distraction, so rather than indulging the rollercoaster of his own emotions any longer, he flipped the pages of his sketchbook, grabbed his sharpener, and asked, “Did you watch the latest Unsolved episode yet? Isn’t it crazy that…” From there on, he just allowed his brain to run on autopilot while ignoring just whose hands he was currently sketching on his paper, fingers tightly entwined while in the back, lonely, a single flower was blooming beneath the rain.

  


･*:.｡. .｡.:*･

  
“So, what’s this thing between you and Renjun?” Yeeun asked from her seat next to him. It was a sunny day, invitingly warm, perfect to sit outside and thus escape the boisterous surroundings of most of their grade. (Actually, it just meant they wanted to play mobile games in peace while eating lunch but that was another story altogether.) 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Jeno mutter, distracted an understatement to his current mindset because there was a damn sniper around and he was not gonna finish this game in the sixties just because his twin sister had been distracting him. “He replaced you for rehearsals until doc says you’re good again. We made peace for the sake of theatre. All peachy.”

Well… The drama club hadn’t been the only reason he had tried to make peace with Renjun, or it wasn’t anymore. Throughout the two weeks that had passed since the basketball game, he had gotten closer to the snarky boy due to practice and by now they even greeted each other on the hallways. It was not yet the level of Jaemin and Renjun, with the younger always hogging the small boy in the mornings and delightedly presenting some snacks he had brought from home but it was less infuriating by the time. The jealousy he had initially felt had morphed into something he had not yet figured out but, bit by bit, he could understand why the basketball player was interested in their school’s newest addition.

Neither was that something he wanted to address, especially not to Yeeun who’d tell Doyoung who’d tell Ten who’d eye them more carefully. He did, specifically, not trust Ten and his loose mouth that seemed all the more infuriating around Johnny, it was the least of his interest to kind of get involved with that family drama he could see approaching like dark clouds prevailing heavy rain if only the coach was to find out about something going on. Maybe he’d admit it to his twin when the month had passed and they were about to return home, not longer needing to stay with their uncle once their parents came home from wherever they had travelled to this time around.

“Don’t pull the ‘all peachy’ card on me,” Yeeun complained regardless but was quick to shut up once Jeno had died in PUBG and brought up the topic of their piano player once again. Hopelessly pining must be a family trait or something.

He was just about to start another game when a message pinged his phone, the emoji chain of a basketball, an alembic and two masks clearly giving away who it was meant for. In a way it was so Jaemin to name a group chat like that only to be as inconspicuous as possible whilst still everyone would know who it was meant for. It wouldn’t take a genius to figure out, although that didn’t mean Jeno would be delighted in people like Mark (with his protectiveness for the team) or Donghyuck (who was just a chatter mouth) or Chenle (who somehow managed to get everyone involved) finding out about them. The rumors that were still going around were annoying enough.

Normally he didn’t even give much about school gossip but he had noticed how Renjun seemed to slightly shrink beneath the many looks thrown at him or how Jaemin sometimes looked tense when Johnny was nearby to possibly hear them. So it was really less about the public discussion of how their relationship played that bothered him and much rather about how it affected those involved. Personally, he found it bothersome but not problematic, should they spend all their time on trying to figure out what the relationship between the three of them was, he had better things to do. Like playing PUBG. Or, apparently, going to the rooftop to get some of the cookies Taeyong had made last night.

“Oh, look, there’s Elkie,” Jeno called out, intentionally loud enough for the composer to hear them and turn around with a bright smile, an entire opposite to his twin sister. Yeeun looked nothing short of betrayed but it hardly mattered to him as he closed his lunchbox and pushed it over to her to finish up whilst he grabbed his bag and got up. “I’ll see you at practice then.”

With chirpy smile directed at the two girls, he left the table to instead challenge the several flights of stairs he needed to conquer to reach the door to Jaemin’s secret hideout. That somehow had turned into their place by now. The other two were already assembled, sweet scent of Jasmine tea wafting over with the slightest breeze and immediately followed by a delighted, “Honeypoo! There are you!”

Okay, that rhyme was something he would have enjoyed to miss, evident by his scrunching his nose, but the mental pain inflicted was quickly mended by the neatly stacked biscuits in a box presented to him along with the question, “You have rehearsal again tomorrow, right? Shall we go home together?”

Renjun let out a little hum into his termos’ mug but Jeno was a bit more aware of the implication. It had become a ritual, their Friday evening to be spent together, in between club ending and dinner at home, yet he still worried about two things, “What about Mark? And Johnny?”

“Oh, Mark has a date with Donghyuck tomorrow!” In a perfect comedic reaction, Renjun spat out his drink at Jaemin’s words, little droplets unelegantly running down his chin from whatever had not ended up all the way over the sports ace’s left leg. Rather than disgust, Jeno considered it funnily adorable, like a little startled deer, and reached up to dab the moisture away with the sleeve of his hoodie. The oldest looked at the soiled piece of clothing in disgust, as if wanting to protest such unsanitary action, yet it did nothing to cover the faint flush up on his cheeks that betrayed the tough image.

“My words exactly!” Jaemin exclaimed, slapping his hands together once, and neither of them pointed out how spitting tea wasn’t exactly a word to be said. “Apparently Donghyuck went to confront him about the - and I quote - ‘bullshit you said about Renjun’ and Mark kind of blurted a confession and then Donghyuck said that’s not the way to do it so here we are.”

It would be a whole mess if these two ended up together, albeit Jeno didn’t want to be the one to point that out. So he just shrugged it off and asked, “Then what about Johnny?”

“I’ll just sneak out before he notices. He’ll just assume I’m with Mark if Lucas doesn’t blabber,” the team captain shrugged it off. Which, reasonable. The coach wasn’t usually one to question that kind of stuff, as Jeno had noticed throughout the years. Didn’t mean he’d be happy hearing the truth about two of his favorite players spending their time when it’d actually happen. According to the Chinese boy’s gaze, though, Renjun was not yet aware of that part of family history. Even the actor had needed years to get to the point of hearing about it, and people like the vice captain probably rather heard from Jaehyun himself than his son.

“Doesn’t Lucas always blabber?” Renjun diced in, apparently having recovered from his whole tea fiasco only to return to his usual sass. Now that the tall team member was mentioned, though, memory flared up in Jeno’s mind about how they had gotten closer ever since the celebration. On the contrary to seeing the oldest and youngest together, that exact thought did spark a little disgruntlement in his guts. Was it something he wanted to think about? No.

Only the fact that his own feelings made no sense to him was bothering him. Which had him return to the short list of people he could confide in and trying to expand it - Yeeun? No. Ten? No. Doyoung? No. His parents? No. Chenle? No! So who else was there…? Jungwoo…? Jungwoo! - only to have his short euphory over the solution to all his problems crushing down on him when Jaemin said, “Time for training, I guess…” Wait, how much of their talk had he missed? Too much, judging by Renjun’s contemplative look. “I’ll leave you two lovebirds to it then,” the youngest cooed on his way to the door inside, adding an “At least that’s what the rumors say!” with a grimace-like wink before disappearing.

For another moment Jeno looked forlornly after their vanished comrade, listening to the door fall shut, and only then at his own practice partner again. The smaller was calmly sipping his tea but with an aura that didn’t fit such innocent face at all and, right, Renjun was still the kind of person he was not eager to have a fight with. “So that thing with the coach...”

“Ten got the hots for him,” the actor blurted out because, good job, that definitely was how to save himself from the conversation of the 4-surname-household and their circumstances. From the reaction of Renjun nearly spitting his tea out again, Jeno figured that information was new. Okay, maybe it was a nice distraction. He silently pat his own shoulder.

“Tight save,” the older pointed out and stole another cookie from the box that had been left behind to silently nibble on it.

Despite the words, it evidently wasn’t what had been yearned for. It just was not Jeno’s story to tell. So he just silently reached out and rubbed his hand over the other’s knee, trying to be reassuring and hopefully not breaking any boundaries with the physical contact. “He’ll tell you when he’s ready for that. Just be patient for a bit longer.” Now he’d only like to know why he was so confident in that belief. He really needed Jungwoo’s advice, the sooner the better.

  


･*:.｡. .｡.:*･

  
True to his words, come Friday, Jaemin was rushing through his after practice routine in a similar way to Mark and the younger was pretty sure they shared a similar sentiment towards Lucas, for once in his life, not yelling about this and that. He could be serious while exercising, after all. But their training had already been drawn on, meaning he was late despite having to still take a shower and everything. Even though it meant another ten minutes of delay to get ready, he was not about to go to a date with sweaty hair and the smell of sports. There was a reason he was the school’s crush!  
Though - was it even a date if no one had declared it a date? Or would it only be him to consider their Friday routine as a cozy little coffee date? After all, unlike Mark and Donghyuck, none of them had ever state it was one, and being three people rather than two made the matter a bit more complicated. Maybe he should be a bit more obvious in his affection? No, he had already been advised to tone it down a bit. 

“Bye, everyone,” he shouted into the changing room, getting some similar responses back that he hardly listened to for he was already rushing out and down the hallways and oer school grounds to get to the main gates where the other two were likely already waiting. With how he had hurried to the point of not even messaging them, he had nearly anticipated for them to go on without him. Now seeing them, standing close together and talking about whatever, had his heart expanding within his chest and his face splitting in half from how wide he was grinning. “I think I just died cause I’m welcomed by angels!”

“You’ll actually die if you go out like this,” was all he could hear before he was already forced to bow down by an arm around his neck, his posture bridging the height difference for Renjun to comfortably pull the hood over his dripping hair and lovingly pull the strings tight. At that moment, he didn’t even care about his face disappearing, all too distracted by the small fairy caring enough about him to not want to see him sick. His heart? Died.

“I think I died during practice,” the captain just grinned and, with his good natured mood, boldly reached for both their hands, holding each in one of his as he set out to their usual coffeeshop. His touch was not yet refused and hand holding was a pretty date thing, wasn’t it? So was he actually one step closer to being able to call this a date? It was a mystery he was as excited finding out about as Renjun was to watch the Buzzfeed Unsolved series. Maybe they should just go on a mystery movie date next? “I love Johnny but I definitely love Uncle John more than Coach Seo…”

“Don’t you all call him Johnny anyways?” Jeno pointed out, the nitpicking contrasting with the fingers tightly squeezing about Jaemin’s sore ones in a soothing manner.

“Shush, if we say his name one more time he might suddenly pop up like-”

“Bettlejuice,” Renjun finished, a familiar glint in his eyes as he looked at them. There was not enough time to get them roped into a Bettlejuice or whatever other movie marathon when the shop came into view. The sight and prospect of coffee alone had the athlete’s heart beating fast within his chest and his steps speeding up along with it, until he was able to shush them inside with the order of looking for a table for them.

Jeno had taken care of the bill last time and proposed to just take turns when seeing the odlest’s disgruntled face. Regardless, it gave the whole thing even more of a date-like feeling, even when it was kind of interrupted by the cashier giving him the heart eyes and applying a discount he hadn’t even asked for. Better for his wallet, not so much for his poor blood pump that just yearned to be close to his two babies, as he so lovingly dubbed them in his mind.

Fortunately enough it didn’t take long for him to arrive at their table, tray with coffee, tea and sweets in his hands. More so, they had managed to get one of the comfortably seats, with a loveseat that was solely occupied by Renjun in all his glory and plush stools for the local borns to use.

“Jaemin,” the oldest spoke up without cue, making grabby hands for his mug to be handed over and once successfully having achieved that, went on, “Did you know Ten has the hots for Johnny?”  
A surprised sound escaped the questioned boy, blinking his eyes at Jeno in (exaggerated) wonder. “Is that why he keeps riling Johnny up?”

The blond merely shrugged it off. “Doyoung says it’s his thing. Did it since college, apparently,” he explained slowly, fork hovering above the sweets until settling for the peach cheesecake. “The whole club has bets going on as to when they’re finally getting that steam off.”

“I don’t think that will work,” Jaemin pointed out, thoughtfully. When had even been the last time he had seen Johnny properly agitated? Maybe when he had once been unattentive as a child and nearly got run over by a car? But even then it had been worry rather than anger. There were sensitive topics still, like this whole dating thing that might be a hindrance until he was in his thirties or something. That aside, some petty arguments hardly were enough to make his uncle lose his cool. “Ten might have to kick a kitten for Johnny to get upset. Or get the whole basketball team into detention before a game.” And that, heavens beware, would get the coach upset.

“Maybe Ten is not in for the prey but the chase…” Renjun muttered, seemingly to himself as the tea appeared to be all the more fascinating than their topic of conversation. 

“Ow!” The youngest cooed nearly on reflex, taking delight in the soft flush on the small boy’s cheeks when the attention of both other boys was suddenly on him. “Is our Injunnie a little romanticist?” 

“I’m not yours!” The oldest protested, foot flying forth in an attempt to attack Jaemin for the verbal one. It was nothing short of endearing, at least to someone who had already admitted to his own feelings. Way more interesting, though, was the fact that Jeno - unlike Renjun - had not spoken up against his words. Way more interesting indeed.

“Dad?” Jaemin asked carefully while rapping his knuckles against the doorframe. Taeyong had left for LA over the weekend, which meant his parents’ bedroom currently felt like a safezone to him and he was even more delighted when his dad actually lifted the blanket as invitation. Call it puberty or whatever but over the years their affections had definitely changed. He had often spent his nights with his dad, although part of that had been owed to how he hadn’t had a room of his own as a toddler so he had generally slept next to Jaehyun. When Taeyong had moved in, they had shared that bed, too, until the three adults had been able to afford a better living space with three separate rooms for them all.

But after a handful years he had already realized that couples needed their space of their own so he had - forcibly - overcome his fear of sleeping alone even when he had had a room of his own and that had got a few things rolling. By now, he felt a bit more affectionate with Taeyong than Jaehyun because his older parent simply was more affectionate and Johnny had always been more of a playmate than cuddle partner.

Despite the changed display of love, he most definitely enjoyed being allowed to take over Taeyong’s space from time to time. Mostly because he didn’t feel like an intruder then and, let’s face it, everyone loved cuddles. Even resistant Renjun with his aggressive (read: adorable) chokeholds.

That he closed the door behind him, though, must have given away he had some worries in his heart for Jaehyun, no matter how drowsy, made the effort to sit up against the headboard. A tiny bit Jaemin felt guilty about approaching his dad with his troubles when he so obviously was exhausted but it really kind of bothered him. Before he even got to open his mouth and speak up, his parent already asked, “How was your date?”

A startled noise escaped the younger at the question along with a surprised, “What?”

It only made Jaehyun laugh. “Well, it’s the third time you’re late on a Friday and since Mark told me in the morning it’s not because of the team, it’s the most logical. I did the same when I started dating Taeyong and had to hide away from Johnny.”

“Why? Because you might have gotten pa pregnant?” Jaemin asked with a snort without thinking. That he might have hit a sensitive spot only caught up to him afterwards but, fortunately, it only got his dad laughing.

“No, but because Johnny would have torn either of us apart if I got you and me hurt in the process of breaking up.” With roughly ten years having passed since his parents got together, it was easily a laughing matter now. Only for Johnny it was still a bit of a pet peeve and to an extent Jaemin could understand. Doesn’t mean it didn’t make him any less nervous about this. Like a distraction, his dad asked again, “So? You, Jeno and Renjun, hm? Is my son finally growing up?”

“It’s… nice,” Jaemin agreed with a shy little smile, fumbling with the blanket covering his legs. “I kind of want to go for it but…” Slightly he tilted his head towards the neighboring room, Johnny’s room, a movement that elicited a little smile from his dad. “After the next game we win, I plan to confess to them. I just don’t want to make it weird with Johnny…”

“You shouldn’t worry about Youngho,” Jaehyun denied, hand reaching out to gently pat his son’s head and ruffle up his hair. “Whether he gets upset with you or not, it’s your life and your relationship. I’ll talk with him and at least you can’t fuck up in the same way as I did.”

Jaemin laughed for a moment at that comment, before he forced a stern expression on his face and told his parent, “Dad, I’m pretty sure you only fucked.” He was hit by a pillow next and immediately broke into laughter that was suffocated by a smothering hug. For a while they just wrestled around bed like this, like they had done when he had been seven years and some old, until they were both exhausted from laughing so hard and the blankets and pillows were in a mess that would have Taeyong ripping his own hair out. 

Quite some time passed until they had calmed down again, in between trying to catch their breath and breaking into fits of laughter, and somehow managed to rearrange the bed to the point they could comfortably lie in it again. While it was silent for some time, Jaemin gathered the courage to ask, “Did you ever regret it?”

“Are you serious?” Jaehyun asked, a bit incredulous. “I can’t say it’s how I expected my life to turn out but I could never - never - regret having a wonderful son like you, okay? Never.”

“Got that. Never,” Jaemin repeated with a broad grin in his life before he made it comfortable for himself and snuggled into his dad’s side. He couldn’t even remember the last time he had been able to do so with his dad, most often he had just used Ruby to have someone to cuddle with. But the poor baby was probably suffering jet-lag now because Taeyong had taken her along. “So I take it you’re cheering me on?”

His dad let out a little huff before just releasing a hum in return. One glance up and he could see how Jaehyun had already fallen asleep, surely exhausted from working all week long. Fridays were their most relaxed days for exactly that reason. Not wanting to disturb his dad any longer, he simply reached for the light switch to turn it off and drown the room in darkness instead.

  


･*:.｡. .｡.:*･

  
It was oddly calm in the morning, when ignoring the whizzing of the mixer, also the very reason it wasn’t usually calm in the morning. It would normally be filled with Sicheng cursing out his boyfriend for having bought the loudest possible mixer available in the store and yells of “why are you up so early, you fricking menace?” but by the time Renjun had wrestled his way out of bed, they’d be all cuddly and smoochy in the kitchen already. This weekend Sicheng had gone to visit their parents, though, so it was abnormally quiet. Quiet as it could be with Yuta blasting One Ok Rock before ten in the morning.  
With a yawn he stretched in bed before trying to reach for his phone on the nightstand. Except it wasn’t there. It took him a while before he realized it must still be in the living room from when he had fallen asleep there, and if that wasn’t one grand motivation to get up. A grunt escaped him as he did, the short way to the living room felt like an eternity and it only got worse when he saw Yuta with his phone in his hands. 

“You had a hailstorm of messages coming in when I charged it,” the Japanese said, as if that would explain everything, but it only had Renjun diving head first into the couch. “Are you going to tell me who ‘that basketball shithead’ and ‘howling samoyed’ are or do I need to give you the talk of the birds and the bees first?”

The younger groaned into his pillow and tried to throw another at his guardian, the sound of it landing telling him he must have been failing spectacularly but A+ for effort anyways. Between getting The Talk and just spilling some facts, the latter would most definitely be the better option, and talking to Yuta was still better than to Sicheng. Not because he disliked spilling the tea to his brother but because his boyfriend was just a bit more open-minded. Sicheng had always had a habit of wearing blinders, thinking of one thing alone until it drowned out everything else. So focused on dance he hadn’t even noticed Yuta trying to invite him for a date for two months, and once the showcase had taken place and dance was no longer the priority he just went and told Yuta to treat him to celebratory dinner. Which was, pretty much, a date.

With a startle Renjun sat up and looked at his kind of brother-in-law with wide eyes while asking, “When someone wins a match… and the team celebrates… and they invite someone else… does it have any meaning?” The answer was obvious from Yuta’s amused eyes already so the younger opted to plopping down into the pillows and groaning, “Don’t even bother…”

“So ‘that basketball shithead’ asked you out for team celebration and you only got its meaning now?” The older teased, luring more annoyed grunts from Renjun who just wanted to choke on his pillow already. 

Yuta just sitting next to him felt like being pressured into talking more, and the teen held out for only so long before he turned onto his side and looked at the Japanese a several handful inches away after having moved seats. “He’s always flirting with everyone, how would I know! Even Jeno, he keeps giving Jen the heart eyes so I just never thought about it any further.”

“Oh, nicknames.” Yuta sounded nothing short of amused and this time around Renjun didn’t hesitate to throw himself with all of his (meager) weight at the older to try to choke him on a pillow now. Be gone shall be Yuta with his unwanted meddling!

It took several minutes (read: seconds) for the older to wrestle the teen off and sit him on the couch properly again. The peace treaty came right after in shapes of, “How about you get ready for the day, I make some breakfast and then you tell me more, hm?”

Breakfast definitely weighed heavier than the prospect of having to talk more about it. It wasn’t in his ways to talk about it, he just wanted to ignore it as long as he could and either it would pass or some special event would set in. Except he should know better, it had already not worked well with the bullies from other schools, emotional matters really shouldn’t be any better. But aside from whatever The Johnny Case was, and the way it interfered with Jaemin’s thinking at times, there really didn’t seem to be much going on… Much as he could say, at least Jeno didn’t seem to have any sort of familial interference with about anything.

With some little protest, that really was more to protect his pride, he moved off the couch and dragged his limbs to the bathroom to brush his teeth and hair, changed into some cozy homewear too, and eventually settled at the dining table with one outstanding breakfast when considering Yuta’s abilities. There was some fresh juice and even toasted bread, some honey and cereals, and his most beloved tea. At least the older had never managed to mess up his tea or Renjun might have thrown a fit already.

Eating was easier than talking, so Renjun focused on that first, until Yuta’s eyes on him felt a tad too heavy and he had to release an exhausted sigh after all. “There’s… Well, Jaemin and Jeno.” He ignored the little catcalling whistle that only spiked his nerves but wasn’t above throwing a piece of cereal at his guardian. “Jaemin’s the basketball team captain and he’s… annoying. Like, really. He’s always clingy and he keeps flirting and saying all these stupid compliments whenever I don’t ask for them…” Without wanting to, he could feel the blush high on his cheeks so he quickly lowered his head to act all focused on smearing his bread with honey. “And Jeno I didn’t like at first. He’s all cold and rude. Was. He’s more like a puppy, all bark and no bite and he’s actually… kind of, well, nice…?”

“Are you asking that me?” The Japanese snorted, sounding more amused than anything and it once more gave Renjun the urge to just get closer to the older to choke him on a pillow. “I don’t know them, after all. But you seem to be good friends?”

“Yangyang and Donghyuck are my friends,” the teen pointed out with a frown but realized his mistake when his opposite released a winning shout. Was this some sort of zodiac thing or just his annoying brother-in-law’s tendency?

“Knew it! So, what’s their zodiac signs?”

Renjun just glared at Yuta in a way that would best possibly emphasize how absurd that sounded. He was not about to compare zodiac charts just because some lunatic adult imagined it would be a good idea, he would definitely not stoop that low. Not to mention that he was a kid of rationality and science, stars were only good to be looked at and for housing aliens, nothing more. Definitely.

“Okay, okay,” the older succumbed with soft laughter and the sounds of eating once again overtook the silence between them. In fact, that particular topic didn’t come up for the remainder of their breakfast, neither while Yuta put some anime on the run for them to watch while lounging on the couch, until a few hours had passed. But the inevitable was just that, inevitable. “So what exactly is it you have going on with Jaemin and Jeno? Do you like them?”

“I spend time with them.” Which, in Renjun terms, already hinted at how he at least didn’t dislike them, and still it was hard to tell. He knew what Yuta was trying to get at and the mere fact that he himself was considering it gave parts of his feelings away. Then again, he had never before romantically interested in anyone, so this was also confusing to him. “When did you know you liked Sicheng?”

It must be a fond memory, because Yuta released a muffled laugh at that. “When I called him a cute bean and he was about to murder me but rather than feeling terrified, I thought it would be a beautiful moment to die if only I could catch one more glimpse of his face.” 

For a second, Renjun looked at him and then, as if talked about, they both faked some retching sound before the older asked, “What are you going to do now?”

“Nothing,” the Chinese answered, and he meant it. Whatever it was that might happen, it wasn’t in his hands anyways, so he sure as hell wasn’t going to stress about it. And if nothing happened, he also didn’t mind, because just spending time with them as it was was already nice enough. And at least Yuta didn’t question that part, instead there was only the sound of some magical girl squealing her catchphrase on TV to drown out the topic once again.

  


･*:.｡. .｡.:*･

  
Musicals in itself were exhilarating, it was what Jeno had loved ever since he was smaller and had attended one of Doyoung’s. But premieres were even better than that, to know he was one of those who saw them for the first time, who could congratulate his uncle and other actors as one of the first ones. Not to mention how usually these evenings involved his parents actually coming home, no matter how much of the world his mother and father wanted to see, there was no way the former would miss her younger brother’s first show. So it usually entailed a lot more than just the premiere, it was all about familial support as well. 

Or today it was also about hidden interests. Namely, Mission: Get Advice from Jungwoo. 

Surprisingly, it took little to no effort to move past his uncle after some warm-hearted congratulatory words and to be forsaken for a second in the chaos of everyone being over Doyoung, to then move over to the best friend and gently nudge Jungwoo in the ribs.

“Oh, Jeno,” the older breathed surprised, as if it wasn’t the most normal thing for their family to watch all the first shows. Not to mention how the actor’s soft voice behind the stage was such a striking contrast to the on-stage singing, it surprised the singer always again. “Shouldn’t you be with your uncle?”

“Well, actually-” The student started but was near immediately interrupted by his sister calling his name and waving her arm exaggeratedly to sign him to come over as they were about to head for the restaurant. Quickly he shook his head, pointed at Jungwoo and his sister most easily forwarded the message to their parents before sending him a thumbs up, then gesturing at her phone and drawing some lines into the air. Also meanings: I’ll send you the address so you can find the way. Once that was cleared, Jeno turned around to the actor and put on his most blinding smile as he asked, “Are you joining us for dinner? Because they just left me here.”

“I don’t have another option, do I?” Jungwoo asked with a smile and went for an embrace that wobbly lasted until they reached the exit. To Jeno it wasn’t even surprising the actor had joined, not when Jungwoo had only his friends to celebrate with and, stuck with schedules or unable to afford it all the time, it was not unusual for the older to join the family. He event felt with Jungwoo, who had been more or less kicked out of his family for too many reasons that were all nothing but spurious. It was such a striking contrast to his own family and their openly welcoming about everything to come their way, albeit sometimes with some precautions.

So that was how, half an hour later, they had all assembled in a private room at the chosen restaurant and ordered probably too much for all of them to eat but that, too, was part of the celebration tradition: just order whatever you want without conscience. Another half an hour later and the elder siblings had drank too much already and were cause of the good mood surrounding them. But amidst all these jokes, it was somewhat easier for Jeno to tug at Jungwoo’s sleeve and ask, “Can I get your advice on something?”

Somehow the singer managed to make a “celebratory smoke” a good enough excuse to leave the room with the student just kindly following after. Once outside, there was mischief glinting in the older’s eyes that seemed to gleam in the dim light of nighttime. “Wow, if you can’t even ask Doyoung or Yeeun about this, it must be serious, I guess.”

“It’s… unconventional,” Jeno mumbled. The restaurant wall he was leaning against felt rough against his shoulders despite the two layers of clothes in between, yet it was the kind of sensory stimulation that helped him stay grounded. “Do you remember Jaemin?” It took only a little nod from the older for him to go on, “He recently… got interested in this boy, Renjun. And in the beginning it was really annoying but then I spent time with him, too, and his voice is really pretty and… urgh!”

It was so silent for a moment, Jeno even feared Jungwoo had just left him alone outside but rather than that, he received a rough pinching to his cheek that had him whining in pain. “Oh my, little Jeno is all grown up. So what is this really about? You feeling bad about having a new crush? Or does Renjun prefer Jaemin?”

“I’m… That’s not it,” the teen started again but, contrary to his initial thoughts, saying this out loud was way harder than what he had initially anticipated. Helplessly he looked at the other, hoping the realization would come without further explanation because he felt like choking on his words already.

“So you don’t feel bad about your new crush?” That question Jeno had to ponder for a moment but, surprisingly, there was no such feelings. Renjun was as scary as he was pretty but that was about it, so he slowly shook his head. “Then are you jealous of Jaemin?” Another shake. “Renjun?” Shake. “Are you upset Jaemin likes Renjun too?” At first he really had but now… He shook his head. His many denials must be confusing Jungwoo who slowly started to look like he might actually need a cigarette after all. “You said it’s unconventional so… Your crush for Jaemin has not disappeared?” Head shaking. “...you like both of them?”

Finally he nodded his head, just that the anticipated relief did not come. Instead it was his turn to get confused with what Jungwoo said next, “Liking two people at once is not a bad thing itself. It’s just what you make of it, Jeno, dear. You should be certain of your decision before you make it, but you should also prepare yourself for what ensues with either option. Are you willing to risk getting turned down by either of them or, worse, both?”

Was he? No. Not the least. He had subdued his crush on Jaemin for years and now that they spent time together again, he could feel it blooming like a flower. Sometimes he had wondered whether they, had they admitted to all that years ago, would have made friends with Renjun regardless but something inside him told him that after knowing him once, they’d have never felt complete after again. A table with three legs would never totter either.

Still, the comfort he had found in their odd friendship throughout the recent weeks was nothing he wanted to sacrifice just for his stupid heart. He had to give it up to Jungwoo, though, to not just have told him to confess, which was likelier what the older would have done. Whilst Doyoung might have just gone off on a tangent about how he should pursue his happiness without ever giving proper advice. What Yeeun had to say, though, was what scared him the most.

So on an impulse he reached forth to pull at Jungwoo’s sleeve to stop him in his tracks, and with some slight delay Jeno pleaded, “Don’t tell them yet, please. If nothing comes out of it, they’d only worry without reason anyways.”

“Oh my,” the actor replied, as if on instinct, and for a second the student rewinded through the evening to remember whether Jungwoo hadn’t actually drunk at some point, despite having to drive his car home still. “You’re really growing up now, aren’t you? But worry you not, your secret ain’t my place to spill.” As if realizing what he just had said, the actor blinked confusedly for a moment before showing one endearing smile. “Sorry. I must still be caught up on our texts, that really messes with my head at times.”

Jeno just smiled wryly, before he let go and followed the older inside again, where they were already greeted by the more drunk than tipsy siblings and a loud cheer. Family, regardless of all, whether good or bad, was a mess after all. Something his dad must have come to accept already, if the solemn gaze and little smile was anything to go by.

  


･*:.｡. .｡.:*･

  
“You can do it,” Jaemin muttered to himself as he fell against his locker which he had just slammed close. His dad had said these words to him last night when Johnny had put all his favorite dishes on the table as motivation for the game that was about to ensue but Jaehyun had, most definitely, not talked only about the game. With a little grunt he dropped his head once more against the metal door, hoping the short pain would maybe distract him from his nerves. Fun fact: it didn’t. 

Paradoxically, he feared the game because of what he had promised to do after but he also just really wanted the game to be over so he could move on to his confession. He had it all perfectly planned, had invited Renjun and Jeno already the week before (and if they couldn’t make most of it because of the drama rehearsal, at least they had promised to come as soon as possible) and asked from his dad to bring some flowers along (he had even given him more money so Jaehyun could buy one for Taeyong as well, to cover it up a bit), and he had already asked his father whether it was okay for Jeno and Renjun to join the party afterwards again. So in theory, it was all perfect. In reality, he was a mess.

He was about to punch his head against the locker once again if not for the trident whistle coming from Johnny, followed by some commands towards their warming up. The other school’s team would likely wait for them in the gym already, something about warming together making them aware this is still a friendly competition when in reality, this only served as an opportunity to check out the other team before they were about to get serious.

“Jae,” Mark called out to him and Jaemin was quick to look over, seeing his team already waiting for him at the door. None of them were nervous like him but none of them were about to confess afterwards...

It was way easier to put a smile on than he would like to admit, but whatever would reassure his team. “Let’s do this!” He cheered before shushing them into the gym. From there on, it all seemed to pass by in a flurry. Warming up, playing, cheering his own team on and getting advice from Johnny, trying to ignore Jaehyun’s gaze from the crowd but spotting Jeno and Renjun the moment they entered. They won 72 - 65 and Jaemin simply felt relieved by that. Relieved and motivated all at once, so it was no surprise the direction he looked first was of the other two, who pointed him they’d wait outside, with justification for the next moment he was already swarmed by people to congratulate him.

It felt like eternity until he was able to get away from the people and wash up in the changing rooms, yet he was the first one to make it out with a call of, “See you at the party!” One that was tradition for years now, that none of them was allowed to skip out on. Celebrate each of the four monthly regionals, and then again after finishing up the biweekly nationals. Ever since Jaemin was on the team and even before, they had managed at least the semi-finals and he was not about to let this lucky streak break even when he had something more to look forward to.

Without waiting for a response, he was rushing out, the bouquets his dad had handed him as “congratulatory gift” well in his hands, until the chilled down evening air hit him. His eyes worked well in the dark to spot the two he was looking for but eventually it was them to see him first, as Renjun excitedly waved his arms through the air to draw his attention. Like a crazy puppy seeing a treat he rushed on, until he had the smaller boy engulfed in a tight hug that nearly sent both of them toppling over. Renjun, though, took it in light spirits and announced, “You played well, Jaemin. I’m sorry we couldn’t be there to see it all.”

Maybe normally, if Jeno and him had been rivals, he would have felt all the hairs in his neck stand on edge. Instead, there was warmth around his heart as he thought about how the two of them had made a shared effort to come to his game, how they always waited up on him every Friday to go for a drink together. When they considered him well, despite finally getting along and sharing half of their club time, he couldn’t help but feel anything except for the heavy thump of his heart.

“I have to tell you something,” he rushed to say, before his brain could overtake his heart and he wasn’t so focused on his dumb crush anymore. “I really like you.” Maybe his crush made him dumb. At least if Jeno’s surprised sound and careful step back was anything to go by. “Both of you!” He nearly dropped his flowers in a haste to grab Jeno’s arm and that, that was definitely not how he had planned to confess but his brain had drawn a blank all of a sudden. Guess he had to roll with it! (His mental state sure felt like that one crazy emoji right this moment.)

Just about to let any lovesick comment coming to his brain roll of his tongue, it was the call of his name that got him back to his senses. Surprised, and somewhat upset, he turned to see Johnny waving his car keys near the gates, likely telling them to hurry up and especially because it was his uncle, he didn’t dare protest. Hell was going to break loose at home anyways. 

With a quick move, he held out both the small bouquets to each boy, realized they were the wrong way around - because Renjun with his bright spirits and unrelenting talents definitely fit a chrysanthemum, each skill representing a new petal, and Jeno’s innocence but cold charisma fit the centerpiece of a white rose, and yes, he had spent more than a handful minutes thinking about that - and added, “I hope you’ll give me a chance to explain and that you’ll still come along. I mean, I understand if you don’t want to but-”

“I don’t mind,” Jeno interrupted, which was unlike the singer in first place but Jaemin didn’t comment on that. Once more, he said, “I don’t mind,” but the words seemed too heavy, weighed down with meaning, to be only addressing the matter of the party.

Renjun, on the other hand, didn’t say anything, only turned around and went ahead to the gates. But if Jaemin looked closely enough, he could easily imagine the older smelling the flowers and smiling softly.

Okay, he told himself, you didn’t ruin it entirely. They don’t hate you. 

And that, at least, was more than he had initially hoped for. (And much better than a rejection anyways.)

  


･*:.｡. .｡.:*･

  
If he had to be honest, Renjun was not certain what to make of this. And it was giving him a phantom headache all throughout the ride because there were too many questions he had to ponder without being allowed to say them out loud. Whatever it was that was going on with Johnny, it clearly had to do with the topic of dating and sitting in the coach’s car at the moment was doing him no favor in regards of his curiosity. The teacher eyeing their bouquets when they arrived had already flipped his stomach upside town and even Lucas being squeezed onto his other side in the car was definitely not helping his mood. Rather, he had wanted to elbow that overgrown puppy when asking about the flowers that looked like Jae- He had stopped there, when Renjun had, after all, elbowed him, but the fellow Chinese still got what it meant. Jaemin’s not blood related father had carried a similarly wrapped set of flowers when leaving the hall after the game and so endearingly greeting them in regards to the party later. He definitely understood where Jaemin got that loving character of his from. (It’s a striking contrast to Sicheng’s and his affinity to violence.) 

It didn’t help that Jeno next to him didn’t seem affected by the circumstances. At all. Rather, it was like the other had made peace with it, maybe even gotten to his own decision, and it was doing things to his mind. Actually, it just made him feel like eggs getting scrambled in a pan. Except the dish of his mind was likely to get burnt from how much overthinking he currently did.

Because if Jeno was accepting the confession, what would they turn it into? Some weird V-kind of relationship, with both of them dating Jaemin? That thought was unsettling, only dating Jaemin when Jeno was within reach, so close and yet so far, he didn’t want that. How twisted could it be to rather have none of them than only one of them? And yet he didn’t want either as long as there were so many questions playing pinball in his mind. 

Without him realizing, they had already reached the house he had become vaguely familiar with, and albeit it was still somewhat cold outside, thanks to the change of seasons approaching them, it was getting somewhat warmer after all. Sometime along the ride, he must have also leaned more into Jeno, as he realized only when there was a sudden lack of warmth with the latter moving to unbuckle the belt and open the door. A little noise must have escaped his throat for Lucas sent him one creeped out look whilst Jeno looked nothing but endeared. That kind of flipped his stomach and it most definitely didn’t do his messy state any good. Still, he accepted the hand held out to him and allowed the blond to pull him out of the car and towards the backyard.

Those that had arrived earlier were already spread out, some having a little cool down game with a ball that seemed way too small to be used for basketball but was bouncy enough anyways, whilst some had settled down already. Jaemin, for one, was manning the grill next to his dad but when Renjun looked for a seat, he found the table they had occupied the last time empty, save for a thermos of tea and a bottle of Sprite. It made him smile inwardly, and getting dragged along by Jeno came easier to him this time around.

But with silence surrounding them, he didn’t know what else to say, rather kept his eyes on Jaemin, seemingly bickering with Jaehyun. His dad really seemed young, and Renjun wasn’t even sure whether that was owed to good looks only or something more. Not like he’d dare question it, asking for someone’s age was rude, and albeit he was aware Koreans based a lot of their culture around age and/or hierarchy, he didn’t dare ask when the age difference was already so clearly set in first place.

The silence, the one he kind of had dreaded until now, was broken only when Jeno said, “Doc said Yeeun can pick up singing soon again. So Ten can’t tell you to slave away any longer than that.”  
“Are you breaking up before we even started?” He wanted to joke, really, but somehow it came out more drily than he had first thought. How heavy his words could weigh only hit him with some slight delay, but before he could make amends, Jaemin was right in front of them and put a plate with cake down.

“Something sweet for my sugar,” the basketball player said, seemingly with all the confidence lost earlier now recovered, like a battery fully charged. It made Renjun fake retch in his wake despite the warmth creeping up his cheeks. He blamed that much on the cold creeping in on them. 

It took but a few seconds for the mood around them to turn somewhat more solemn and it had Renjun feel no better than when he had been called to the headmaster’s in kindergarten. Only that this wasn’t about fighting over toys but something way serious. This, exactly, was the reason why he didn’t want to think about it, he’d only get lost in a maze of thoughts of what ifs that truly were doing him no good.

“About earlier,” Jaemin finally started, and the mere fact that he had opened his mouth was already calming Renjun down a whole lot, “I meant it. I like you both and I know it’s unconventional but we’ve worked so well throughout the recent weeks, I wouldn’t see why it shouldn’t work in a romantic setting neither. So while I do hope you will not reject me, I’m more than willing to give it my all to prove both of you that we can do this.”

Even without knowing Jaemin properly, it was easy to see all the determination he had put into this. Ironically, it probably should be the other way around, shouldn’t be the youngest who does all the first steps but to Renjun most of this was… overwhelming, to say the least. He could feel his heart beat faster and heat crawl beneath his skin, he felt restless when he didn’t know what to do with himself all of a sudden because he should be more assured of himself but he wasn’t. This was unknown terrain to him, until merely two months before he hadn’t even had friends, not to mention experience with romantic feelings, and Jaemin’s open handling the situation despite having about as much experience as Renjun was intimidating.

But throughout all of it, he still had made his decision. There were things he still wanted to know, questions he had to ask, and Jeno’s answer had yet to come. Or maybe it already had, considering what had been said outside the gym. 

“I don’t mind,” the singer said once again, as if to emphasize his earlier statement. “We’ve been tangled up for years now, Nana, and at this point, I don’t think we can work this out anymore unless we have Renjun with us.” Words that had initially sent a little load of needles piercing his heart, soon turned to have it swell like skin after an injection, and the Chinese had to hide his lovesick smile for a moment. “I had already settled with just remaining friends with you, and I would’ve done the same now again. I still think I can. So, Renjun…”

He kind of froze. On an instinct, some idiotic sense of fight or flight or freeze, he chose the latter, million thoughts rattling through his mind but all that came out was a meager, “Johnny…” Their reaction got him to his senses again, Jeno’s eyes stuck curved and Jaemin’s open confusion. First, he took a deep breath to calm himself, then he elaborated, “You have an advantage on me and you said you’ll tell me about your family. But as long as you didn’t do that, I won’t join this. I want to know what I’m getting myself into.”

  


･*:.｡. .｡.:*･

  
Jaemin’s room hadn’t changed in the least, that was the first thing Jeno noticed upon entering. There were still a bunch of medals nailed to the wall and there were pictures of him with his family all over, they were just arranged more neatly. Rather than being taped to the wall, they were aligned in these awfully hipster kind of frames, one even with the theme of a rainbow as Jaemin clearly had put an effort to document whenever he and Taeyong matched hair colors. It was endearing. 

To inspect his room had not been the initial reason Jaemin had taken them up here, yet Jeno couldn’t help but drown out their conversation a little bit. He had never been told explicitly, but he had managed to piece the story together throughout the years. So he should be more attentive but when all the star player had done so far had been to seat Renjun on the bed and move around to find one special picture, it was really easy to forget about everything else. 

“There,” Jaemin finally said and handed an old photography over, one Jeno only caught a glimpse of but it was easy to recognize the rough time of it. Jaehyun dressed in this uniform wasn’t unseen, there was one or another picture among the group pictures of the basketball team hung up around their high school. After all, Jaemin’s dad had chosen that specific one for a reason, not just the cause of vicinity. “When dad was my age, he was part of the basketball team. He was really diligent, could’ve made it into varsity and maybe even the professional league. But…” 

For Jeno, it was easy to see the hesitation in the younger’s gaze, so he didn’t think much about it when he ruffled his hair in the passing and then settled on the desk chair. Jaemin went on. “He and his girlfriend of that time kind of messed up one night and she got pregnant. Originally her parents urged her to give the baby - me - up for adoption after giving birth but dad… He couldn’t bear that thought so he took me in…”

A bit surprised, contrary to his expectations, Jeno glanced at Jaemin. He had been aware Jaehyun had become a father quite soon, the details had not been that obvious to guess, though.

“He had to stop his basketball training so he had more time for me and my grandma took a leave from work for nearly a year to help dad out. But it also meant sacrificing his dream of playing basketball for me so Johnny… They were best friends already then and dad was clearly heartbroken with that decision so Johnny’s… protective, I guess.”

Jaemin didn’t just guess. But it wasn’t Jeno’s place to point that out. For someone who had dealt with that knowledge for a long time, the younger wouldn’t make guesses or anything. In the middle of family, there was only knowing and being aware of stuff and sometimes willingly overlooking it. Just that this was a story that hadn’t been properly told before and if Jeno had to imagine it alone… The thought of getting a girl accidentally pregnant around this time and having to cancel all the plans for his future - he wasn’t sure he’d be able to make the same decision with as much confidence. 

With a little smile he imagined the gears turning within Renjun’s head, who seemed contemplative of what to say next. It was easier for Jeno, to just skid over in his chair and knock his knees against Jaemin’s to draw a timid smile from the other. To an extent, it lessened the heaviness of the story.

“My brother raised me,” the smallest suddenly spoke up, the shift of topic luring a confused sound of Jeno’s mouth. “Or, kind of. Our family moved around a lot so Sicheng was my only constant. I know it was hard on him, so I can imagine how it must have been for your dad too. But at least he had never needed to sacrifice his interests…” Something different was audible in Renjun’s voice, something like empathy but it ran way deeper, there was a sense of understanding that would have broken Jeno’s heart in different circumstances. “But I’ll have to change my condition in that case: Talk to Johnny first. Feelings are fleeting but family stays.”

There were a bunch of unspoken words in the air, yet it was not denial. There was a chance, and Jaemin must have sensed it too, for the younger didn’t hesitate in grinning brightly - mood swings worse than a pregnant woman, seriously - and throwing his whole weight onto Renjun. It was funny to watch, how the small boy was so easily drowned out by the player’s height, and even funnier how Renjun still tried to wrestle Jaemin off despite it all. 

“Cuddle pile!” Jeno called happily before he, too, joined them on the bed, smothering Renjun from the other side. He ignored the annoyed grunt with ease, as he just nosed along the bits of revealed skin that were revealed by the tea loving boy’s crumbled up hood. And just for this moment, it seemed perfect. To just stay like this, their positions adjusting only a bit until Jeno was on his back with Renjun curled against his side and Jaemin a messy imitation of spooning him. Like this, it might just be perfect.

Although there was no denying his priorities when Jaehyun knocked against the door some minutes later and gently reminded them, “Dinner is ready.” Because then it was just a war of getting the best pieces - some of which landed on Renjun’s plate who had called them all airheads just because he had no chance at fighting off the basketball team, contrary to his two semi-boyfriends.

  


･*:.｡. .｡.:*･

epilogue

  


“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Jeno asked from his spot, but Jaemin hardly cared about that. It was way more interesting to peek through the bookshelf that split the coffeeshop into two and observe the drama club’s leader. Ten was sitting on his own, but not for long.

“Stop worrying, idiot,” Renjun hissed, equally as interested in this as Jaemin was and for that reason alone the ace player wanted to drop the bomb of the L word. He really wished there was some cosmic sign telling him whether it was the right time already or not. Still, he was happy as it had turned out anyways.

Like Renjun had demanded, he had talked to Johnny himself. It had not been an easy talk, not in the least, but whatever his dad had talked with him first, had made it easier for Jaemin, in the end. Although he had needed with one week of near silent treatment and hellish training the whole team had to suffer through, he had gotten some sort of free pass once his uncle had realized he wasn’t intending on slacking off during training just because he was dating now. (He still wanted to make his boyfriends proud of his achievements.)

Didn’t mean Johnny hadn’t given him the stinky eye when he pleaded to be let off earlier than the others so he could cheer Renjun on during their science decathlon. To an extent, Mark being in a similar situation had helped him out a bit. Unfortunately, due to being their neighbor, Mark had also been dragged into one excruciatingly long weekend of extra training between just the two of them. By now, Jaemin was certain Johnny had still not forgiven him to have broken the golden rule but come every Friday evening date, he could forget about all that easily. It was about the only schedule they still managed to keep properly, what with Jeno’s final preparation stages for the musical and Renjun, although with less activities on the science club after they had lost the tournament “as expected” - Renjun’s words, not his - had been made yet another drama club slave to help with the prop making. Jaemin both wanted to coo at his boyfriend being so talented and pick a fight with their teacher for mistreating his baby like that. (Calling baby usually ended him in place of mistreatment.)

“You’re so mature…” Jeno muttered into his cup, and for the moment the athlete was willing to overlook the sarcasm mixed into this perfect voice. Especially when stuff started to get interesting and Johnny entered the café.

It had taken them weeks to come up with the perfect plan and timing for all of this, in a wonderfully detailed plan consisting of three steps:  
One - Find a day the three of them had time so they could make it a date  
Two - Jaemin and Jeno had to lure out Johnny and Ten respectively with whatever excuse to be used  
Three - Renjun, in exchange, only had needed to ask Yuta to drive them to the mall so they could leisurely go shopping after without having to drag their bags across the whole city

So far, it had worked out well. Jeno had said something about a blind date to Ten, Jaemin had told Johnny about wanting to go over strategy again but being afraid of creeping Taeyong out with all their sportstalk once again, and Renjun… Well, after some several weeks he had simply learned that Renjun got whatever he wanted anyways. Not that Jaemin wasn’t happy to indulge him whenever, right the contrary, he loved spoiling his two boyfriends. Especially now that it was official and he could show off all his love and affection without any hindrance. Except maybe a certain fairy’s elbow that left bruises worse than those during training. Totally worth it when he got some kisses in exchange, though.

“It’s starting,” Renjun lilted, both of them quite focused on spying on the two adults who had either made sense of the coincidence or were blindly stuck in their trap after all. Jaemin didn’t care, he was more interested in the result of all this.

From a distance, he could see Johnny pick up his phone and, seconds later, Jaemin’s vibrated in his pocket, only that he didn’t even get to look at it when a warm body was pressed into his back already, followed by owner Jeno whining, “Pay attention to me too.”

Unexpectedly, the singer had become really needy for affection, and Jaemin thrived on it. Honestly. It was even cuter when Renjun eyed them as if it was offensive, their cute acts, but the moment they pulled him in, he became all pliant and turned into putty in their hands. It was adorable.

Johnny must have given up on his trying to call, but from the irregular but unrelenting buzzing in his pocket it was easy to deduct a bunch of messages had arrived. Not that he cared. Rather, he turned to look at their table, took in their mostly empty drinks, and declared, “Let’s go. I saw some really cute jewelry store on the way up, you think we could buy some matching rings?”

“Marriage is too early for us,” Jeno pointed out followed by Renjun highlighting, “How are we going to get out without them seeing us?”

Jeno released a surprised sound at that and Jaemin, too, had to admit: that was nothing he had considered before. Nervously he chewed at his lower lip and glanced at their two teachers again. “Maybe we should try to just sneak past them one by one?”

Unsurprisingly, it did not work out. Jaemin still found it funnier to rush out with Jeno and Renjun in tow, connected by their hands, while Johnny attempted to run after them but only happened to knock his knee against the table and nearly spill the coffee over Ten. In the evening he would still be able to hear about how the unplanned date had gone, for now he wanted to focus on his own and bathe in the company and attention of the two most beautiful boys in his life. Just like that, it seemed like a good piece of happiness for the moment.

**Author's Note:**

> Congratulations to everyone who made it to this point! (ღ˘⌣˘ღ) Much as I love longer stories, too, I know how **long** it sometimes takes to get there so really, my admiration goes to you!  
Before I get to all my random anecdotes: I recently made a twitter! ヾ(・ω・*) I really miss talking about the groups I like and I'd feel bad spamming my other accounts with stories that aren't affiliated to the fandoms so if you want to talk to me or just keep up with some random facts - [here it is!!](https://twitter.com/starrymeis)  
Connected to that, I also set up a special curiouscat so [ask me anything!](https://curiouscat.me/starrymeis)
> 
> Comments, too, are always welcome! (*˘︶˘*) I would especially love to hear what all of you thought about this as I'm still not 100% used to NCT Characters so helpful critic is always welcome ╥﹏╥
> 
> Now, since this is a long story so I really put a lot of thought into it and there's a lot of thoughts that followed my while writing this, some of which I could not mention or some where maybe I wasn't clear enough on the story sooo here goes!  
\- I don't usually like playing around with age too much so I feel a bit sorry for Yeeun ╥﹏╥ Jungwoo, who's the same age, ended up as part of the adult world but Yeeun was made into Jeno's twin <strike>poor her</strike>, and Elkie too - whoops?  
\- In the aftermath, Renjun as Sharpay and Jeno as Gabriella might have also made an interesting combo but when I realized that, I was at least 75% done already  
\- In case I didn't manage to highlight it enough but basically, Jaehyun got his girlfriend pregnant when he was about seventeen, losing his career chances, yada yada. Jaemin kept his mother's surname as a memory, and Johnny helped Jaehyun in raising Jaemin up to this point. It was kind of tough at times to combine the images of cute and soft spoken Johnny with the scary coach but... I tried? ┐(︶▽︶)┌ Jeno's parents, on the other hand, do a lot of travelling so they usually leave the twins with Doyoung as babysitter. Since Doyoung studied with Ten and is good friends with Jungwoo, they're therefore also acquainted with the twins. Renjun's parents are busy with work so they moved around a lot. Sicheng moved into a dorm when he started university, then moved in with Yuta and that was about the same time Sicheng also got Renjun to move in with them.  
\- I mentioned Taeil as headmaster, science club head + chemistry teacher, and PE teacher and do I regret it? no ┐(︶▽︶)┌ Kun is the librarian, in case anyone missed it.  
\- Yangyang, Jisung and Donghyuck are, obviously, part of the science club. 99-Line belongs to the basketball club. Yeeun, Elkie and Chenle are the only mentioned drama club members so far.  
\- Yes, Elkie and Yeeun will eventually get past their pining and become loving idiots and they go on double dates with the idiot trio ♡( ◡‿◡ )  
\- I originally planned to stick closer with the HSM plot but somewhere in the middle of that, I realized it won't work out because I lacked Jeno-Renjun dynamics and then I just... rolled with it ╮(￣ω￣;)╭  
\- I mentioned Overwatch and PUBG a bunch because a) it's about the two only games I play b) Yeeun was even recorded playing Overwatch <strike>can't believe she chose Bastion of all heroes, though</strike> c) Jeno and Dream were recorded playing PUBG too  
\- mentioning this, I have bets running we'll see Donghyuck playing as Widowmaker on 24h relay cam and if he does, I'll disown him...  
\- Don't ask me why I had Yuta of all people interested in zodiacs, I think I just projected my scorpio tendencies on him anyways haha


End file.
